The health "thing"

The other popular bulge explanation involves a portable defibrillator, such as the one manufactured by Lifecor. A commentator on Is Bush Wired makes two claims along those lines:

1. That tbe Bush family has a history of Atrial Fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat.

2. That W is particularly at risk because he takes presciption drugs for depression and paranoia.

The first point can be proven. From a July 17, 2000 Salon story:

In 1992, President Bush's reelection bid began badly when he vomited and collapsed in Japan at a dinner party thrown by the country's prime minister. From then on, the campaign was dogged with mostly unconfirmed rumors of his ill health. It was speculated, for example, that atrial fibrillation medications he took were affecting his mental acuity. What else would explain his pallid and lackluster performance at debates and appearances, particularly compared to the robust physical health and voracious appetite exuded by opponent Bill Clinton? The Bush campaign headquarters vigorously denied every ill health charge but it didn't change the fact that it wasn't only the economy that was ailing -- it was also Bush's physical image. His election results were equally anemic.

This goes a long ways toward explaining why W would keep any medical issues out of the public's eye.

The second allegation harkens back to this story (already mentioned in this column) from Capitol Hill Blue:

President George W. Bush is taking anti-depressant drugs to control his erratic behavior, depression and paranoia, Capitol Hill Blue has learned.

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.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” says one aide. “We can’t have him flying off the handle at the slightest provocation but we also need a President who is alert mentally.”

Tubb prescribed the anti-depressants after a clearly-upset Bush stormed off stage on July 8, refusing to answer reporters' questions about his relationship with indicted Enron executive Kenneth J. Lay.

“Keep those motherfuckers away from me,” he screamed at an aide backstage. “If you can’t, I’ll find someone who can.”

Many wonder why, if this story is true, it has appeared only in a small semi-alternative publication. I would note that Iran-contra was first reported in an obscure Lebanese paper. More to the point, Tubb has never denied the report, even though it has circulated widely.