PSYCHOANALYZING GEORGE W. BUSH

Justin Frank, professor of psychiatry, offers a psychological profile of George W. Bush in Bush on the Couch. He analyzes Bush’s actions since his early childhood, where he was a member of a dysfunctional family. His upbringing, coupled with learning disabilities and alcohol, created a potentially deadly force. The lethal combination of denial, blame, and bravado distracted Bush from his own shame.

THE IMPACT OF GEORGE W. BUSH’S PARENTS

During George W. Bush’s childhood, a dramatic psychic split affected his view of the world. This split hampered his ability to manage his emotions. It led to restless anxiety. It conditioned him to view the world in the black-and-white terms that was indicative of his administration.

Bush sought his father’s approval as much as his mother’s disciplinarian ways. He was the neglected son of an absent father. He was unprotected from his mother’s disciplinarian ways.

Barbara Bush. According to some friends, Bush’s mother instilled fear and had trouble connecting emotionally with her son.

In the fall of 1949, Barbara Bush’s mother was killed in an automobile accident. Barbara did not attend the funeral. In 1953, Barbara and George Herbert’s daughter, Robin, was diagnosed with leukemia. The parents took Robin on several trips from Texas to New York for medical treatment. They never told their son, George W., the purpose of the trips. Young Robin died in October. The next day, the parents played golf. A small memorial service was held the following day. There was no funeral. The parents never told George W. about their child’s death.

Barbara was incapable of feeling or showing sorrow. The ability to manage loss is a prerequisite for both personal growth and the development of empathy for others. In raising a child, the first stage is the infant’s consciousness of his mother. The baby needs to identify with the ideal mother and may have positive and/or negative experiences with the mother.

The second stage involves the mother helping the baby develop the ability to regulate the child’s emotions. The mother needs to transform the child’s despair and anxiety into something that is manageable. The mother needs to react according to what the child is experiencing. This helps the baby develop his or her own sense of emotions to feel connected to the mother. If the mother fails to recognize the needs of the baby, the vital exchange between the two does not occur. The baby continues to project his or her negative feelings on the surroundings, incapable of integrating his or her conflicting emotions.

Consequently, the child’s world remains simplified and uncomplicated by ambiguity. Barbara Bush was unable to nurture her children. She consistently doubted herself and her lovability. She evolved into a stern and distant mother. Barbara became the family disciplinarian -- an authoritarian mother. She rarely showed her feelings.

* She could not show her genuine feelings on the morning after her husband lost to Bill Clinton in 1992. She said, “Well, now that’s behind us. It’s time to move on.”

* Barbara split her worldview into “good” and “bad.” All the “good” lived outside of her. All the “bad” remained within her. Numerous times she referred to people as “wonderful.” However, her insecurity made it difficult to raise a child. She hampered George W’s ability to manage his anxieties.

As a result, George W. is unable to perceive the complexities of reality. To him, everything is black and white. His world is divided into good and bad. There are no shades of gray.

In Bush’s later years after his bout with alcohol, he accepted Christian fundamentalism. Which served as a means of protection for him. It divides the world into “good” and “evil.” All things are “black” and “white.” It allows Bush to remain rigid in his views, since there is no place for reason or questioning.

George Herbert Bush. Bush’s father, was both emotionally and physically absent during his son’s youth, triggering feelings of both adoration and revenge in the young Bush. This love-hate relationship triggered a complex and dangerous mixture of feelings that included yearning, rivalry, anger, and sadism.

As a businessman and a congressman, the father’s absences undermined his ability to show love and affection that is naturally craved by a child. His father had a negative impact on his development.

Bush yearned for his father’s love and approval, even as he resented its being withheld. Bush was faced with feelings of vulnerability. But it was and is too painful for him to face. Consequently, Bush was driven to impress, emulate, and outperform his father whom he holds responsible for his past and potential humiliation.

As a child, Bush exhibited a number of defenses -- teasing, inflicting cruelty on animals, and developing the appearance of independence -- that masked the hurt he encountered from his father’s rejection.

Bush needs his father:

* Bush relied on his father to get him into a prestigious prep school and into Yale. He counted on him to escape Vietnam and enter the Air National Guard. When Bush’s first two oil ventures were going bankrupt, his father’s wealthy friends rescued him by investing in Harken Energy.

But Bush could not emotionally become close to his father:

* The father and mother of Bush’s roommate at Yale served as his surrogate parents. George W said, “My father doesn’t have a normal life. I don’t have a normal father.”

* He struggled to live up to his father’s expectations. He was not the student or athlete his father was at Andover and Yale. He had to settle for the cheerleading squad.

* He returned to Yale in 2002 to receive an honorary doctorate and boasted that anyone who was a “C” student could become president of the United States.

* He told his parents that he did not want to attend Harvard Business School but did so only to prove a point. “I just wanted you to know that I could get in.”

* HBS professor Yoshihiro Tsurumi said Bush was among 85 students he taught in “Environment Analysis for Management.” Bush scored in the bottom 10 percent of students in the class. He recalled Bush’s statements and behavior were “always very shallow. … Whenever Bush just bumped into me, he had some flippant statement to make.” Bush displayed a sense of arrogance about his prominent family, including his father. He made it sure we understood how well he was connected. He boasted that his father’s political string-pulling got him to the top of the waiting list for the Texas National Guard instead of serving in Vietnam. When other students were frantically scrambling for summer jobs, Bush explained that he was planning instead for a visit to his father in Beijing, where he was serving at the time as the special United States envoy to China. (Harvard Business School Newsletter, July 16, 2004)

* He tried to follow his father to the altar, getting engaged at the age of twenty just as his father had. But George W called off the engagement.

* He said, “I want to be a fighter pilot because my father was.”

* His defeat for a seat in the House of Representatives kept him out of politics for sixteen years, during which time he had to cope with his failure to live up to his father.

* Although he promised to be an “outsider” during the 2000 campaign, he later chose numerous advisors from his father’s former administration.

* When Bob Woodward asked Bush if he had sought advice from his father before going to war against Iraq, he answered, “He is the wrong father to appeal to in terms of strength. There is a higher father I appeal to.”

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Dyslexia, ADHD, and other thought disorders impaired Bush’s ability in politics to function normally.

ADHD. A child will show anxiety when the mother makes an unresponsive face. The child may become desperate, trying to elicit a response. The child’s fear of rejection mounts. His need to play increases in intensity. The child never addresses the real source of anxieties. This is an indication of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Bush showed an inability to grieve -- dating back to age 7 -- when his sister died. The family reacted by not grieving and refusing to hold a funeral. This was an example of refusing to acknowledge pain and hiding behind antic behavior, a symptom of ADHD.

As a child, Bush and his mother would practice reading with flash cards. His dyslexia made it difficult for him to sort things out and synthesize information. He was unable to understand a complex world and consequently was only able to perceive issues in black and white with no shades of gray. He rarely met the challenge to read books and newspapers, although he would carry a Bible to display to the world his devotion to religion.

* In grade school, George W was known as “Bushtail.” His high energy level indicated a high degree of hyperactivity, a sign that he resorted to physical activity to manage his anxiety.

* He was unable to sit still at school.

* He threw a football through a third-grade classroom window after being told to stay inside during the rain.

* His classmates recalled him as an antic, energetic, and defiant clown.

* He used a pen in fourth grade to decorate his face as a circus clown.

* While in high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Connecticut, he sold false IDs to fellow students so they could purchase alcohol.

* While in school, he was arrested for carrying out Halloween pranks.

* As co-owner of the Texas Rangers, he ordered fake baseball cards -- with the current president’s name and picture -- and passed them out at baseball games.

* As president, Bush’s mood swings went from quoting the Bible one-minute and then erupting in obscenity-filled outbursts the next.

The famous Bush smirk conveys a sign of anxiety and sadism and revenge. He enjoys inflicting pain on others. He takes pleasure in the pain his policies inflict on others -- rather than taking responsibility for them.

This sadistic impulse is an attempt to deny the destructive self that he cannot bear to acknowledge. He shows an indifference to human life. Crossing George W. Bush can lead to reprisals. And he ran as the “uniter” -- not the “divider.”

* Bush inserted firecrackers into the bodies of frogs; lit the fuses; and blew them up.

* After his father was elected to the House of Representatives in 1966, Bush was arrested for disorderly conduct at Yale.

* He was president of Yale’s DKE fraternity where he burned pledges with a hot branding iron. Bush was quoted as dismissing the wound as “only a cigarette burn.”

* As governor of Texas, he smirked over the executions of some Death Row inmates. In the 2000 presidential debates, Bush said, “Guess what? The three men who murdered James Byrd. Guess what’s going to happen to them? They’re going to be put to death.”

* Karla Faye Tucker pleaded for her life, saying “Please don’t kill me.” Bush later mocked her. With his lips pursed in mock desperation, Bush told television commentator Tucker Carlson, “Please, don’t kill me.”

* Bush reportedly laughed when he was told that a Death Row prisoner’s attorney had fallen asleep during the trial.

* He bragged about how difficult it was to escape the Texas death chamber.

* In 1995, he learned that his father had resigned from the NRA. George W reacted by throwing his glasses across the room. He called his father and cursed so loud that his parents threatened to hang up on him.

* As president, he shunned GOP Senator Jim Jeffords until he finally bolted the party to become an independent. That cost Bush control of the Senate.

* After 9/11, Bush introduced the notion that America deserved revenge -- and would seek it. He said he would “answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.”

* He disregards the pain he inflicts on Iraqi citizens, refusing to comment on civilian casualties.

* When members of the White House Press Corps would challenge Bush – being too critical -- he was willing to embarrass the journalist.

Bush’s obsession with capturing Saddam Hussein was all about payback, of seeking revenge upon a person who threatened to kill his father.

* Bush allowed the media to show off the bodies of Saddam’s two sons who were killed in a firefight.

* He rejoiced over the television footage of the Saddam’s humiliation in captivity.

An adult with ADHD must deal with impulsivity and craving. He can easily be distracted. His attention span may be short. He is unable to focus when he must. He often makes snap decisions. He shows a lack of interest in abstracts. He is a risk taker.

* A year before Bush went to war, he told a group of senators, “Fuck Saddam, We’re taking him out.”

* Bush’s father carefully built a coalition to go after Saddam Hussein, went to war, proceeded with caution, and wisely retreated from southern Iraq. George W never weighed the pros and cons. He decided impulsively to go to war. He failed to build a substantive coalition, hastily went off to war, and had no plan to reconstruct Iraq.

Bush has a narrow range of knowledge. He lacks curiosity. He has disdain for “intellectuals.” He is unable to think in a focused way. He cannot address complex issues in anything but the simplest language.

* On August 6, 2001, Bush was briefed about a potential attack that explicitly involved the hijacking airplanes. But after 9/11, Bush went on record as saying he “never saw any intelligence that indicated there was going to be an attack on America.”

* When asked about the murder of Red Cross workers in Baghdad during American occupation of Iraq, Bush simply said, “They’re cold-blooded killers, terrorists. That’s all they are. They’re terrorists.”

* Bush spoke of “smoking Al Qaeda out of the caves;” having “Bin Laden on the run;” “Wanted: dead or alive.”

* He attended a lecture on new advances in radiology at the National Institute of Health. In the question-and-answer period, Bush raised his hand and asked the lecturer, “How old are you?”

* When asked by Tim Russert on Meet the Press (February 2004) whether he would testify before the 9/11 Commission, he smiled and answered “Perhaps,” as he shook his head no.

When Bush doesn’t have a prepared speech to read, his answers to questions are frequently awkward and are memorized phrases. He often falls back on his humor -- a defense mechanism -- by poking fun of reporters.

* Bush told an audience at the Associated Press annual luncheon on April 21, 2004, “I kind of like ducking questions, like my mother once told me to do.”

Bush’s life is filled with restless, impulsive, and childish behavior.

* Bush is unable to sit still. He has difficulty refraining from making faces. He needs to joke with people.

Bush often displays a vacant deer-in-the-headlights stare.

* When told of the terrorist attacks on the morning of 9/11, Bush was paralytic. While reading My Pet Goat to students in a Florida classroom, Bush was told that the World Trade Center was under attack. As White House officials immediately reacted, Bush continued to sit for 15 minutes in classroom with the students. And he never issued any orders on that fateful day.

Dyslexia. ADHD often coexists with other learning disorders. The most common in the Bush family is dyslexia. Dyslexia is generally accompanied by an inability to manage anxiety. Although Neil Bush’s dyslexia is known, George W’s dyslexia is not documented -- but his reading habits are.

* Bush could not live up to his father’s academic and athletic abilities at Andover Prep and Yale.

* He compensated for his flaws by developing other “talents,” such as his sense of humor.

* He was president of his fraternity that was known for drinking. He joined the secret neo-spartan Skull and Bones organization.

As president:

* Bush does not read newspapers.

* He does not take notes during press conferences or debates.

* In his simplistic world, he refers to people simply as “a good man” or “they’re doing a good job.”

MEGALOMANIA

Bush instills in himself a false sense of omnipotence that originated during childhood. Bush suffers from “character pathology,” including “grandiosity” and “megalomania” -- viewing himself, America, and God as interchangeable.

The megalomanic needs to triumph over insecurity and fear. He develops a false sense of invulnerability. He knows the right way. It’s that simple. The megalomanic has his roots in his child’s delusions of omnipotence. The world revolves around him. But if a baby fails to develop the ability to recognize his capacity to hurt others willfully and to feel compassion, these fantasies can continue in his subconscious throughout his adult life. The megalomanic is without compassion or guilt.

Bush sees himself as the center of the world; the one with all the answers. He is the one who tolerates no disagreement. He is the one who sees external realities as either threatening or non-existent. He is indifferent to any damage that he has caused.

DEALING WITH ALCOHOL

Bush’s untreated alcohol abuse led to denial and impairment. From late in his youth to age 40, Bush had to deal with the compulsion to drink alcohol. To his credit he gave up alcohol on his own – but he did so by externalizing this enemy rather than to acknowledge that a greater threat was within.

Many years of heavy drinking might have affected his brain function. His decision to quit drinking without the help of a 12-step program placed him at far higher risk of relapse.

Bush chose not to undertake the Twelve Steps of the AA program which is intended to guide the recovering alcoholic toward self-acknowledge and acceptance. As a result, he never received help in dealing with anxiety. Instead, he has taken personal control of his alcohol problem by controlling all aspects of his life himself. He rigid routines include short meetings, limited office hours, a daily exercise schedule, and daily Bible Readings. In his first seven months as president, Bush spent 42 percent of his time at his Crawford ranch.

Most alcoholics exemplify an aggressive behavior:

* He was president of a Yale’s Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity known for its heavy drinking environment.

* He collided with his father as a 26-year-old in 1973. After knocking over garbage cans, Bush walked in the house and challenged his father as other family members watched in dismay.

* In 1976, Bush was arrested in Maine for driving under the influence of alcohol.

RELIGION IS HIS CRUTCH

Religion serves as Bush’s shield to protect him from challenges. He uses fundamentalism as an excuse to insulate himself from responsibilities. It’s an amnesty that he gives himself, absolving him for any blame he made in his earlier lifetime.

Bush uses religion to simplify and even replace thought. He doesn’t have to think. He positions himself on the side of good (God), and thus he places himself above discussion.

Bush could only be a fundamentalist, since that mode of Christianity is simplistic. It divides the world into good and evil. All things are black and white like in the dogma of fundamentalism. One remains rigid in his views. Fundamentalism rejects interpretation of the Bible. There is no place for reason or questioning.

Bush cannot be challenged. He identifies himself with being president and allies himself with both God and America. He equates himself with God. He infers that he has divine authority.

* In March 2004, Bush told an audience in Los Angeles, “God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear.”

* As governor of Texas, Bush declared an annual “Jesus Day.”

* He appointed deeply religious people to his Cabinet.

* The promotion of faith-based initiatives is a central tenet of his presidency.

* He opens every Cabinet meeting with prayer.

* The biblical struggle of “good” and “evil” has resonated since 9/11. Bush calls it a “crusade.” He separates the world into “good” and “evil.”

* In his first speech to Congress after 9/11, Bush said, “Why do they hate us? They hate our freedoms – our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.”

* On the war against terrorism, Bush says, “Either you’re with us or against us.”

* His first opponent was Osama Bin Laden; then it was Saddam Hussein. Bush routinely has called them “evil-doers” and “enemies of freedom.”

* Referring to terrorists, Bush said, “They hate progress and freedom and choice.”

* Bush fails to explain the real motives behind fundamentalist Muslims’ hatred towards the United States. He refuses to explain the United States history of meddling in Middle Eastern affairs; of America’s quest for oil; and of coddling Israel at the expense of Palestinians.

A FALSE BRAVADO

Bush cannot come face-to-face with his fears. He may think he is protecting Americans on the war on terrorism. But the result is the opposite. The baby, whose parents never help him manage his fears, lacks the means to face them and respond accordingly as an adult. The adult then passes the fears on to the rest of us -- either intentionally or unconsciously.

Bush has protected himself in several ways -- by his family, by privilege, by wealth, and by his inner circle. He has a need for power with little or no regard for morality. His mother descended from President Franklin Pierce. His father is a thirteenth cousin, twice removed, from Queen Elizabeth of England.

To externalize his internal fears, Bush bullies others or instills fear in the hearts of his fellow citizens. He shows a false front of bravado. He uses borrowed phrases and gestures to feign this bravado.

Bush never claims responsibility and never makes reparations for his failures. He never apologizes or says “I’m sorry.” Instead, he places blame on others.

This incapacity for responsible reparation hampers Bush’s ability to lead the nation. Unable to accept responsibility for his actions, he can neither learn from mistakes nor avoid repeating them.

* Just before his March 20, 2003 speech announcing the commencement of bombing Iraq, Bush was captured on a White House television monitor saying, “Feels good.”

* His greatest moment was a photo-op in his flight suit on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, while the backdrop behind him read, “Mission Accomplished.”

* He took delight in the capture of Saddam, saying, “Good riddance. The world is better off without you, Mr. Saddam Hussein. I find it very interesting that when the heat was on, you dug yourself a hole and crawled in it.”

* He was willing to mislead the nation into war with Iraq. He simply dismissed the reasons he gave to go to war. In fact, he joked about WMD being found under his desk.

* He projects fear into others, so he doesn’t have to experience it. Since 9/11, he repeatedly has warned the American people of the potential of more terrorist attacks in the United States. Instead, he should assure Americans in positive ways.

* He attempted to prevent an independent and non-partisan investigation into 9/11 and his war in Iraq.

* He avoids press conferences. He discourages follow-up questions. He sticks to scripted answers as much as possible.

* He attempts to distract journalists, refusing to elaborate on the failure to find WMD. Instead, he continues to say that Saddam was an awful tyrant who had to be replaced.

* He wants to be free to roam around on his Crawford ranch. He insists on personal freedom with no interference whatsoever. He hates controls.

* But he whittles away at the Bill of Rights. He had contempt for the freedom to vote in Florida, seeking to terminate the recount after the 2000 election.

* He has contempt for freedom of speech. He has disdain for dissenting views. He has cordoned off areas known as “free speech zones,” so he cannot hear or see protesters.

* He has contempt for the Fourth Amendment. He railroaded the Patriot Act through Congress while denying debate on the bill that led to a loss of numerous civil liberties.

* In February 2002, Bush was asked if his Security Council resolution would go to a vote, despite a possible veto by France and Russia. He answered, “Yes, we’ll let them show their cards.” Less than one week later, Bush reneged on his promise and yanked the resolution off the floor.

* During the 2000 campaign, Bush said, While some in my party have avoided the NAACP, and while some in the NAACP have avoided my party, I’m proud to be here. … I believe we can find common ground.” The NAACP reached out to Bush numerous times in hopes of meeting with him, but he never responded. But Bush responded by shunning the nation’s largest civil rights group. Fearing that he would be confronted by hostile members, he refused to speak at the NAACP convention in July 2004.

* Bush chose to mark key civil rights holidays with insensitive announcements and behavior. In 2003, Bush chose the Martin Luther King holiday to announce the administration’s stance against affirmative action

* He makes jokes at the expense of his wife. He told reporters that she had gone to Crawford “to sweep the porch.”

The war on Iraq has the effect of multiplying Bush’s enemies around the world. He has lost allies in Europe. French President Jacques Chirac is not on speaking terms with him. Bush infuriated Mexico’s Vincente Fox by reneging on his promise to change immigration laws.

Bush has been one of Al Qaeda’s top recruiters. By his wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, he has driven thousands of moderate Muslims into the terrorist camp. In Iraq – a country where terrorism was non-existent -- he created the vacuum that was filled by thousands of Islamic fundamentalists.

When Tim Russert asked him about the growing international contempt for him, Bush answered:

“Heck, I don’t know. I think that people -- when you do hard things, when you ask hard things of people, it can create tensions. And I -- heck, I don’t know why people do it. I’ll tell you, though, I’m not going to change, see? I’m not trying to accommodate -- I won’t change my philosophy or my point of view.”

OMINIPOTENCE: LIVING OUTSIDE THE LAW

Bush’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, lived outside the law. He had financial ties with key Nazi businessmen as late as 1942. This illegal and immoral behavior was overlooked when he was elected to the Senate.

Bush’s father continued the tradition. He served as CIA director under President Gerald Ford. He participated in the Reagan administration’s efforts to cover-up illicit activities in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Bush’s psychological defenses provide him with a safety net:

* He cannot accept blame.

* He has excluded internal conflict from his life.

* He cannot accept responsibility for any wrong-doings.

* He owes no one an explanation.

* By living within a psyche of denial, he remains safe from attack.

* He maintains the simplistic split between “good” and “evil.”

Bush has a sense of omnipotence. From childhood to the White House, he saw himself as invincible:

* He was arrested for pranks in high school.

* He was willing to risk arrest by driving intoxicated.

* He was always rescued. When his first two oil companies -- Arbusto Energy and Spectrum 7 -- were falling into bankruptcy, he called on his wealthy friends to bail him out.

* He missed four consecutive SEC filing deadlines for reporting his Harken Energy stock trades.

* When saying “we have a responsibility to respect the law,” he made every attempt in Florida in November 2000 to undermine the recall.

* He unilaterally abrogated the 1972 SALT I Treaty with Russia.

* As the most powerful person in the history of humankind, Bush sees himself above any person. He challenged highly educated and seasoned European leaders, refusing to be a part of the Kyoto Protocol, International Criminal Court, the Biological Weapons Treaty, the International War Tribunals, and the Land Mines Treaty.

* He proclaimed, “We must uncover every detail and learn every lesson of September 11th.” But he made every effort to stonewall an independent investigation. When he failed, he refused to take an oath when he answered questions. And he claimed executive privilege when he told Condoleeza Rice to refuse to testify.

* After 9/11, he claimed “There was nobody in our government, at least, and I don’t think the prior government that could envision flying airplanes into buildings.” But in July 2001, he was warned “Islamic terrorists might attempt to kill President Bush and others by crashing an airliner into the Genoa summit.”

* German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s asserted that Bush broke the law by refusing France and Germany to invest in post-war Iraq. Bush responded tersely, “International law? I better call my lawyer.”

* Bush was willing to accept the Pentagon and Justice Department’s recommendations to use torture as a means to extract information from terrorists. He was willing to dump the Geneva Conventions.

Bush gives himself a sense of security by operating a “secret government.” Bush’s government is even more secret than the Richard Nixon White House.

* The members of his Energy Task Force remain secret.

* Before 9/11, he was warned by the intelligence community of imminent terrorist attacks on American soil. This was kept secret until the reports leaked out in May 2002. Almost immediately, the White House issued warnings of future acts of terror, hoping to minimize the damage that it had sustained in failing to react earlier.

* He tried to conceal documents pertaining to dialogue between Enron officials and some White House staff members.

* He issued an executive order protecting presidential papers that, if scrutinized, might have exposed embarrassing and questionable documents, including the president’s father’s involvement in Iran-Contra.

* Under the Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or TIPS, Bush asked Americans to spy on one another.

* He classified National Missile Defense tests for the anti-missile system at Vandenburg Air Force Base after some tests either had failed or the results had been fabricated to indicate successes.