Did Businessweek just call Bush a retard?

[DJPoopypants]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4514404/

An article on how the author tries to explain Bush's behavior and language. Some statements are , well, see for yourself;

The article doesn't go for the throat, but does grab your attention right away

"SUBTLE DISORDER." To some learning-disability experts, the signs are clear: Bush might want to pay them a visit...ample signs indicate that something unusual is going on in the left side of his brain, where language and hearing are processed.
The possibility is high that there's some dysfunction in the way he hears words, the way he processes what he hears, or the way he retrieves words when he tries to speak.

Wait a minute - I didn't think conservatives liked modern PC garbage - we should call a dumb kid a retard, not "developmentally disabled".


ALL IN THE FAMILY? Those with learning disabilities can become stellar achievers precisely because they develop compensating mechanisms to overcome their syndromes -- often using their own intuition and smarts. The SchwabLearning.org Web site, which bills itself as a guide for parents of learning-impaired kids, lists more than 50 luminaries with disabilities, including athletes Bruce Jenner and Magic Johnson, actors Henry Winkler and Whoopi Goldberg, and business executives Richard Branson and Charles Schwab.
Such disorders often are genetic, and the Bush family has a history of them -- Bush's brother, Neil, has been diagnosed with dyslexia. Bush's other brother, Marvin, has a son in a Washington school for children with learning disabilities. Perhaps as a result, the President's mother and First Lady Laura Bush have both been big advocates of improving reading skills.

No snickering about inbreeding in the back now. You'd miss...

ONE OF THE GUYS. Bush's penchant for talking about good and evil and for saying countries are either with us or against us in the war on terrorism may also reflect a learning disorder. His professed distaste for nuance could stem from an inability to process the complex sides of an issue. "To analyze that, you have to analyze the language," says Bonnie Rattner, a speech and language pathologist in San Mateo, Calif.

Oh man, this article really gets ya.

As a liberal, I guess the first thing that struck me was a bit of, well, maybe shame, y'know - its not cool to make fun of the disabled and mentally slow, especially when they have these huge challenges hardwired into their brains. It made me stop and think.

The 2nd thing that struck me was "Oh my god, we have a president with a serious learning disability trying to navigate the country through one of its toughest periods in history..."

[Michael Russ]

As someone who has the same type of problem as Bush, I also find this article very interesting.

I have never been diagnosed with dyslexia but their definitely is something dfferent about me.
For instance, my wife is an avid scrabble player and I watch her play and she never rearanges her tiles.

I am constantly moving mine around trying to see the words I might be able to make. I asked her about it, and she says she just looks at the letters and words appear. I have seen champion scrabble players interviewed and they say the same thing.

OTOH I am much more mechanically and geometrically inclined. For instance those tests that ask, "if this gear is turning in this direction, what direction will this final gears in a set be turning" are very easy for me, while my wife gets frustrated with them.

The biggest thing I would take issue with is the assertion that "His professed distaste for nuance could stem from an inability to process the complex sides of an issue."

My inability to process language as efficiently as my wife has absolutely no effect on my willingness to make the effort to process complex issues.

In fact just the opposite is true. My wife is very stubborn and is almost never willing to listen to both sides of the issue. Even though I do have strong opinions, I spend as much time reading people I disagree with as people I agree with.

I also think it is ridiculous to claim that this is a "serious learnig disability", as people who have this disability are perfectly capable of learning. In fact they are often better prepared to deal with adversity because they have spent their entire life having to work harder to accomplish what others take for granted.

Their intelligence is also often under appreciated by those who don't take the time to fully appreciate their abilities, so thier opinion of the so called "elite" may be jaded.

[Roel]

Bush is somewhat incoherent in that he cannot explain his administration's policies in a relatively benign environment like his interview with Russert.

Your posts have much more coherency than Bush or his policies. It isn't likely you have the same thing. BTW, I'm a good scrabble player and I constantly move the letters about like you do.

[Dan Loney]

I don't think Bush actually is learning disabled. I subscribe to the theory that when he sincerely believes something, he can articulate it extremely well. By far the most positive example I can come up with is the "I can hear you!" speech to the firefighters at Ground Zero.

When he doesn't believe something, though, his mind goes on walkabout. Bill Clinton never had that problem - he was always focused on selling what he was saying. Most politicians are, come to think of it - Ronald Reagan had several careers using the very same skill.

[tcmahoney]

I have mild dyslexia. I deal with it by double-checking what I read and write. I'm also capable of expressing myself with far more coherence than George W. Bush. (Nervousness about or dislike of public speaking are not excuses that a governor and president can reasonably use.)

I've never played Scrabble, but I think me or Michael Russ could slug down a case of Bud and still beat Bush in Scrabble.

[Sneever Flion]

Originally posted by tcmahoney
I have mild dyslexia. I deal with it by double-checking what I read and write. I'm also capable of expressing myself with far more coherence than George W. Bush. (Nervousness about or dislike of public speaking are not excuses that a governor and president can reasonably use.)

I've never played Scrabble, but I think me or Michael Russ could slug down a case of Bud and still beat Bush in Scrabble.

That's because you'd still be sober.

[shwantzme]

Originally posted by tcmahoney
I have mild dyslexia. I deal with it by double-checking what I read and write. I'm also capable of expressing myself with far more coherence than George W. Bush. (Nervousness about or dislike of public speaking are not excuses that a governor and president can reasonably use.)

I've never played Scrabble, but I think me or Michael Russ could slug down a case of Bud and still beat Bush in Scrabble.

Your avatar could beat Bush at scrabble