June 10, 2004
SO HELP ME ME:
Rx for W: Electoral Surgery (Richard Leiby, June 10, 2004, Washington Post)
We can assure you nobody will be caught perusing this book in the White House. "Bush on the Couch," authored by a longtime Washington psychiatrist who has never met or treated the president, offers "an exploration of Bush's psyche" that delves into such touchy topics as his baby sister's death, his relationship with his mother and father and his drinking history.
In the book, to be released Tuesday, Justin A. Frank, a clinical professor at George Washington University Medical Center, claims President Bush exhibits "sadistic tendencies" and suffers from "character pathology," including "grandiosity" and "megalomania" -- viewing himself, America and God as interchangeable. Frank told us yesterday that his opinions are based on publicly available materials, adding, "I've never met the president or any members of his family."
A Democrat who once headed the Washington chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Frank concludes in the book: "Our sole treatment option -- for his benefit and for ours -- is to remove President Bush from office . . . before it is too late."
We still await the first psychiatrist who is not in more dire need of treatment than his patients.
Posted by Orrin Judd at June 10, 2004 7:20 PM
Isn't it malpractice to diagnose a patient one's never seen?
His medical license should be revoked.
Posted by: kevin whited at June 10, 2004 8:25 PM>President Bush exhibits "sadistic tendencies"
>and suffers from "character pathology,"
>including "grandiosity" and "megalomania" --
>viewing himself, America and God as
>interchangeable.
I have a copy of the 1942 OSS report The Mind of Adolf Hitler. Did they crib directly from the OSS psych profile and just do a global string substitution on the name?
"How different psychology would have been if Uncle Siggie hadn't turned on to toot. Next time somebody preaches to you about psychiatry, just remember the whole thing was dreamed up by a coke freak."
-- Some fan story I read many-many years ago
Isn't Mrs. Judd a Professor of Psychiatry? And doesn't she read the blog?
Posted by: pj at June 10, 2004 9:56 PMThat's Dr. Judd to you & she's a quack too...
Posted by: oj at June 10, 2004 10:25 PMMaybe we can get Jim McDermott M.D. (Psychiatry) (D WA-7) to do a review of this book, or at least give us his professional opinion.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at June 10, 2004 11:27 PMHey Cabana Boy-
Back off on the psychiatrist jokes - you may upset my psyche so much that I will not be able to work anymore (and you know what that means...)
To set the record straight, I am employed by the dept of psychiatry (which runs the sleep disorders center where I work) but I am not trained as a psychiatrist. Not that there's anything wrong with it. I do have to agree with my, er, better half, that many of the psychiatrists (and more psychologists)that I have encountered are completely nuts.
Posted by: The Wife at June 11, 2004 8:26 AMIt's Friday. Just sit back, all, and imagine the job this kook would do on Orrin.
Posted by: Peter B at June 11, 2004 8:45 AMWhy in the world would the Post consider this news? It's absurd (probably why it was posted huh?).
Posted by: Bartman at June 11, 2004 9:05 AMPeter, that vision would be worthy of a beer, if it were a little later than 9:30 in the morning . . .
Posted by: Paul Cella at June 11, 2004 9:32 AMPeter - Since the only treatment option he knows is removal from office, and it's impossible to imagine Orrin away from his computer, his therapy would doubtless fail.
Posted by: pj at June 11, 2004 10:05 AMPaul/Pj
I would be particularly interested in their analysis of one who thinks every war in history was unnecessary but has a long list of others that should have been fought.
Posted by: Peter B at June 11, 2004 10:31 AMAnd, on reflection, also likes to take time to intersperse his calls for wars and killings with really cool barbeque recipes.
Posted by: Peter B at June 11, 2004 10:41 AMIs this a good time to plug "Fried Green Tomatoes"?
Posted by: jim hamlen at June 11, 2004 11:27 AMThis guy will certainly make the rounds of all of the talk shows. He may be a quack, but his sense of timing and his marketing savvy are perfect.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at June 11, 2004 12:36 PMWho's the publisher; The Onion?
Posted by: Genecis at June 12, 2004 12:11 PM