Spooky - The decline of George W. Bush

I've been around long enough to experience the slow decline of aging, but the following video about President Bush (hat tip to Andrew Sullivan), is somewhat alarming.

There could be any number of reasons, and I agree with Sullivan that pre-senile dementia isn't the likeliest. But I have to admit his public speaking has gone seriously downhill. I remember a while back replaying his speech to Congress after 9/11 on the White House website, and being struck how much better he spoke then, but I wrote it off as good preparation for a speech he cared deeply about.

It's well known that the Presidency wears on Presidents, and in times of trouble the toll is greater. Consider Abraham Lincoln in May of 1860 and then in April of 1865. There are plenty of other examples in the historical record.

I know that many of the President's detractors will seize upon this as evidence of the deterioration of an alcoholic or the result of youthful drug abuse, and call more loudly for his removal. I expect that his defenders will respond with stinging denunciations of the left's blind hatred and unpatriotic fervor. Such is the state of the partisan divide today.

As usual the partisans miss the point, arguing starboard versus port while the ship sinks.

As the President goes, so goes the nation. It's in all of our best interests for the President to do well! If Mr. Bush is merely distracted by the pressures of his office, and it only manifests itself in his formal speeches, it's one thing. But if he is diminished mentally, to the point of negatively affecting his decision making, it is a great concern.

Remember, this is the man who can order the launch of nuclear missiles, among many other decisions that profoundly impact our collective welfare.

How good do you feel about the President's decisions lately?

If there's more, it's here.