The Blinking Bush

As I noted in my last post regarding the second debate, Bush seemed to have trouble controlling the muscles around his eye lids. A pesky mosquito on Monday night awoke me at 4 am and urged me to turn on the TV to watch ABC's This Week. At the end of the program it showed an excerpt from the Late Show with David Letterman. In a span of less than 20 seconds during the third debate, the Bush Blink Counter registered about 30 blinks. Perhaps a call to the Guinness Book of World Records is in order.

The excessive blinking almost exclusively occurred while Mr. Kerry was levelling criticism at Bush and his administration. Blinking seems to be the way he deals with stress and is a physical manifestation of his discomfort.

Others, perhaps more cynical than me, have suggested that it is a form of Morse Code and George was signalling out SOS. However, there is a much more plausible explanation. After they were caught with the radio transmitter installed on George's back, Karl Rove and company needed another method of convincing the public that George could put together a couple of coherent sentences. A quick call down to the basement of the CIA gave Karl access to a top-secret optical transmission device that sends signals and imprints them directly on the retina with enough energy to short-circuit the brain and directly connect with the nerves controlling the vocal cords. Thus, without Bush's brain impeding the proceedings, he was able to make it through the debate looking only slightly simian. However, the side effect of transmitting information directly to the retina is excessive blinking. Perhaps some effectively applied Botox around the eyes would help calm this. Something to look into for next time.

On a slightly more serious note...

Perhaps it was due to the bright lights, exhaustion or just being George Bush, but the debates made me wonder if George is taking psychological medication. When he looked directly into the camera to answer what he had learned from the powerful women in his life, his eyes looked completely lifeless, his affect muted, and his response slow and unnatural. Certainly, few can match the polished persona of John Kerry, but there is something disconcerting in the mannerisms and conduct of George Bush. As I never paid much attention to US politics until recently, I cannot make comparisons but it would be interesting to study his facial movements and general affect over time to see if there has been any significant changes.

A quick serach of the internet shows many other people have questioned the mental health of the President. Furthermore, there have been rumours of erratic and "conduct unbecoming of a president" during his tenure. Perhaps, his aides are slipping some pills into his morning coffee?