It wouldn't be decided running fromwould make me inclined to say I'm going to be a candidate. [fn 46] a battle. The fact if there's a battle, and there will be, that
As part of this same deception number, Barbara Bush also floated a trial balloon that George might
renounce the second half of his birthright. Speaking of the period 1993-1997, Mrs. Bush told a
reporter, "I wouldn't mind if he gave [those years] to me. I wouldn't mind if he didn't, I would notbe terribly disappointed if he didn't run." In the course of this interview, Mrs. Bush also revealed
that George, despite his hyperthyroid treatment, was still manic enough to want to play golf at the
crack of dawn: "Sometimes he says to me at 5 in the morning, "If you played golf we could go out
and play right now.'" Mrs. Bush admitted that she was now taking golf lessons; "I want to be with
George," she explained. [fn 47]
But six weeks later, during the course of the Moscow summit, Mrs. Bush rose above her personal
concerns to look historical necessity straight in the eye: "I really think he has to run again,
honestly." And why was that? "For the country's sake. I think he's got a lot left to do, and I think he
has to. Now, I don't want that to be a public announcement." How about lingering doubtphysical condition? "He is well. And you know myths get started, and we've got to stop it. Thes on Bush's
president is very well. He jogged on Sunday and played 18 holes of golf. Plus we had a large group
for dinner. The president is great." Repeating this line for ABC and NBC television, Mrs. Bush
denied that she would try to talk George out of a bid for a second term. She suggested that such
ideas were largely the creation of the press, a slightly disingenuous posture. [fn 48]
As for the burning issue of Dan Quayle's precious bodily fluids, the tests ordered in May revealed
that there was some lead in the old pipes at the Naval Observatory. Marilyn Quayle shared this vital
intelligence with a group of Republican fat cats at a fundraiser in Orlando, Florida. "We've gotten
some reports back that weren't real heartening," said Marilyn. "We had higher lead [levels] thanwhat was supposed to be there in some of the different spigots, but it wasn't all over the house. We (^)
want to have it redone because it didn't make any sense." But experts maintained that there is no
connection between lead and Graves' disease. [fn 49] Of course, lead-lined goblets and other
drinking vessels used by the wealthy during the Roman Empire have sometimes been cited as a
factor in the notable mental instability of many emperors.
In early August, Bush met with a group of perception pimps and other political advisers at his
Camp David retreat. Pollster Bob Teeter was there, along with Robert Mosbacher, who was on the
inside track to chair the campaign. Also present were Brady, Quayle, Sununu, William Kristol of
Quayle's staff, and media expert Roger Ailes. A few days earlier, Bush had stated that "only ahealth problem" might make him drop out, but "I don't have one right now. On the same day,
Burton Lee had certified Bush as being "in excellent health." [fn 50] By late October, the Bushmen
were already holding $1000-a-plate fundraising dinners, complete with Bush, Quayle, Mosbacher,
and other heavies of the regime. Bush was running, with a vengeance.
Comparing the evidence adduced here so far about the etiology and symptoms of Basedow's disease
with Bush's pattern of activity in 1988-1991, three general conclusions are suggested:
- Since 1987-88 at the latest, George Bush has exhibited a marked tendency towards obsessive
rage states, often expressed by compulsive public displays of extreme anger and lack of self-control. These obsessive rage states and the quasi-psychotic impulses behind them may be regarded (^)
as the probable psychological trigger for Basedow's disease, a psychosomatic, autoimmune
disorder.
- There is much evidence that important decisions, including most notably Bush's decisions