made by Bush under pressure. Intriguingly, November 20 was also the day that Bush
personally pronounced the much-tabooed word: "DEPRESSION." "I don't want to
emphasize just the bad things, to talk us into a depression," he had told some television
stations owned by NBC. It was a landmark: presidents had made that word taboo for
many decades. [fn 73]
Towards the end of November, the pendulum of Bush's unpredictability had swing back:
the Asia trip was being rescheduled for about a month later than originally planned. By
now, the media were harping on the evident "disarray" in the White House, but none
seemed to recall the thyroid episode of the springtime, nor the psychopathological trigger
for the thyroid condition.
Sometime during November, just about the time his approval ratings were about to go
below 50%, Bush apparently received urgent advice to moderate his "mad dog" public
profile in favor of a more conciliatory and affable posture. This occurred during the same
month. 0hatever the details that led to the renovation of his image, he now began to
exhibit concern for the victims of the Bush depression who, according to his litany, he
now understood were "hurting." He began smiling more, and hissing somewhat less.
Photo opportunities began to depict him fraternizing with the common people.
But that postponed Far East trip continued to loom as Bush's nemesis. Because of his
desire to be seen doing something to improve the lot of the comman man, Bush's handlers
repackaged this trip as a crusade to open foreign markets to US exports, thus helping to
defend American jobs. Bush accordingly took along the widely discredited top executives
of GM, Ford, and Chrysler to symbolize his committment to the moribund US auto
industry. These figures functioned like a Greek chorus of negative spin, pointing up
Bush's misadventures and failures. The most outspoken of the Big Three bosses was
predictably Chrysler's Lee Iacocca, of whom one reporter said that he would probably
complain if the sun came up.
Bush displayed decided mental instability during this trip. In Canberra, Australia, he
flashed a well-known obscene gesture to a group of farmers who were protesting his "free
trade" farm policies. Bush told a luncheon cruise in Sydney harbor, "I'm a man that
knows every hand gesture you've ever seen-- and I haven't learned a new one since I've
been here." As the Washington Post reported, "Down here, holding up the first two
fingers to form a "V" with the back of the hand toward the subject is the same as holding
up the middle finger in the United States. And that's just what Bush did from his
limousine to a group of protesters as his motorcade passed through Canberra yesterday,
apparently not knowing its significance. Or maybe he did." [fn 74] One is reminded of
Nelson Rockefeller's antics on at least one occasion.
Then came Bush's visit to Japan, crowned by his seizure at a state dinner in the official
residence of Prime Minister Miyazawa. Bush had vomited at least once before the dinner.
"I got a preview in the receiving line. I turned to the prime minister and said, 'Would you
please excuse me,' and I rushed into the men's room there. And I thought that had taken
care of it, but back I came. It hadn't been halted. It was just the beginning." [fn 75]