How This Started.

It's my wife's fault. She subscribed to Atlantic Magazine and I happened to read the September issue. There, a feature article by James Fallows noted that George Bush used to be a much better speaker and debater than the George Bush we're used to. Hm. Interesting. Didn't give it much thought.

Then the October issue arrived and, for whatever reason, I happened to read a Letter to the Editor (I hardly ever do that). And there was this letter from a Doctor that essentially said - hey, if George Bush had some problem like dyslexia it would have showed up ten years ago as well as recently. If his "sentence-by-sentence speaking skills" have declined, there's only one diagnosis - presenile dementia!

Holy Smoke!! Now best as I can figure that's a scary term for some sort of decline earlier than normal (it's normal when we're older - not at George
Bush's age). And, near as I can figure, you can make this external diagnosis without knowing the exact cause.

It's like I have a limp - I didn't have one ten years ago. You might not
know why I have a limp, but you are qualified to see that I limp.
It would take X-rays and maybe some examination of the patient's history (I used to be a long-distance runner) to determine exactly why I limp - but you would still be qualified to say that I have a limp. So that's why this seemingly unfair and barely substantiated "diagnosis" is actually relatively fair and accurate.

Anyway, as my wife will tell you, every once in a while I get caught up in things and this would be an example. Most days I behave and publish
college textbooks (on advertising and marketing) and in 1976,
I actually cashed checks from the Republican Party when I was the Creative Director for Campaign '76 (Gerald Ford was President) during the latter
half of the Republican Primaries. (You can read about it in one of Studs Terkel's books - American Dreams Lost and Found.)

I'd like to thank my friends who helped on this - Augie Augenstein, who
edited the video and Scott Jacobs who got me in touch w. James Fallows who told me how to get a copy of the tape and all the people who felt it was responsible to pass it along. My candidate of choice is, obviously, John Kerry. But I should also mention that my basis was a feeling that there was a lack of competence - a sense that "the boy ain't right."

Bruce Bendinger - Chicago, IL
cell phone - 847-226-4662