obsession may erupt as a glower at work, on the job or elsewhere; it may take the form of
the launching of a vendetta against some person on the slightest kinds of flimsy pretext; it
may also take the form of kicking the wife, the children, the family dog on the weekend,
at home, to compensate for the frustration that is experienced in the week before. We're
all familiar with this type of personality; no one can go through life without knowing a
number of close contacts whom one has closely observed who have a problem in this
direction. We also know of cases, when extremely stressed, overloaded --shall we say,
circuits overloaded -- that the behavior we see is that which we would rightly associate
with a psychotic or semi-psychotic state, as I observed in George Bush first in that press
conference broadcast in the high point of the US invasion of Panama.
There is no question, on the one hand, that if George Bush is such a personality -- and
there is no doubt that he is a disturbed personality who has great difficulty in coping
rationally with the frustrations associated with his office under present conditions --
there's no question that what he did in Panama, what he did in Iraq at some points must
have been colored by psychosis, or this kind of psychosis. [fn 42]
Was Operation Desert Storm really Operation Thyroid Storm? On May 20, one of the
most fanatical supporters of war against Iraq had attempted to pre-empt the discussion of
the role of hyperthyroid mental instability in Bush's military decisions. This was William
Safire, who wrote:
Next, with more sinister intent, we can expect this question: To what extent was the
President's uncharacteristically activist mindset after the Iraqi invasion affected by a
hyperthyroid condition? Was he hyper last August 2? Did the overactive gland affect his
decision to launch the air war or the ground war early this year? [fn 43]
Bush himself had been asked to comment about this possibility. He replied that any idea
that his warmongering in the Gulf had been facilitated by his thryoid disorder was "just
plain, old- fashioned malarkey." Before leaving on a visit to St. Paul, Minnesota, Bush
protested that his health was fine. "I'm not wary, you know, wondering what happens
next," he said. It makes me happy everything's okay. They diagnosed it right, treated it
right, and there's nothing more serious to it." Just after he had boarded Air Force One at
Andrews Air Force Base for his trip to the Twin Cities, Bush called reporters together
and declared: "I just want to say everything's fine." Asked about any side effects of the
five medicines he was then taking, Bush answered that his medication "affects my
tummy. But it doesn't affect my willingness and eagerness to get to the office." In an
apparent allusion to Lincoln's celebrated comment on the alleged alcoholism of Gen.
Grant, Bush even suggested that his thryoid excess may have been an advantage: "There's
a great man who suggested, 'If that's your problem, then get more thyroid problems
because it went very well, indeed.'" [fn 44]
During June, there were hints from Bush and his retinue that he might not run for
president again in 1992. This was largely a cynical public relations ploy, attempting to
generate a story when it was clear that Bush was monomaniacally obsessed with holding
onto power as long his he could and by any means. On a visit to Los Angeles, Bush