Bush Explained

Speaking of special education, let's talk about George W. Bush. No, seriously. According to Business Week

To some learning-disability experts, the signs are clear: Bush might want to pay them a visit. These experts haven't tested the President, so they caution that they can't be certain of the diagnosis. Yet, ample signs indicate that something unusual is going on in the left side of his brain, where language and hearing are processed.

Now, like most people, I've taken potshots at Bush's intellectual aptitude. But, I've never been one of those who believes Bush is stupid. Silly, stealthy, divisive, embarrassing, inadequate, craven, dangerous? Certainly. But not stupid.

Of course, as the Business Week article points out, we can't know for sure whether Bush has a learning disability. But I think the article posits a plausible hypothesis. Certainly it is a theory that provides a reasonable, if alternative, explanation for numerous Bush traits and actions. For example, I've long thought that Bush's penchant for nicknames was really more a mnemonic device than anything else. The article mentions other good examples.

Unfortunately, despite the interesting potential explanation for Bush's style, there's not much more we can really glean from this theory. After the "Aha -- that explains it" moment we're still left with a man who is not up to the task of being president.