Bush Being Treated for Paranoia and Depression

Capi­tol Hill Blue: Bush Using Drugs to Con­trol Depres­sion, Errat­ic Behavior

I’m the last one to think less of a per­son who is tak­ing psy­choac­tive med­ica­tions to con­trol depres­sion or oth­er con­di­tions. In fact, I think it’s great that he’s get­ting the treat­ment that he needs, and that it may help him be a bet­ter president.

I do, how­ev­er, find the knowl­edge that the pres­i­dent has been diag­nosed with para­noia to be very dis­turb­ing. And the side effects are extreme­ly worrying.

The pre­scrip­tion drugs, admin­is­tered by Col. Richard J. Tubb, the White House physi­cian, can impair the President’s men­tal fac­ul­ties and decrease both his phys­i­cal capa­bil­i­ties and his abil­i­ty to respond to a cri­sis, admin­is­tra­tion aides admit privately.

The arti­cle goes on to men­tion Dr. Justin Frank’s book Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the Pres­i­dent in which he diag­nosed Bush as a “para­noid meglo­ma­ni­ac” and “untreat­ed alco­holic.” I’ve paid no atten­tion to Frank’s book, find­ing its very premise to be uneth­i­cal and in vio­la­tion of the APA and oth­er guide­lines. The man admits that he has nev­er treat­ed the pres­i­dent and isn’t privy to his med­ical records, yet he claims that he can diag­nose him.