The Billiken's Bluff

An article in today's NY Times explores the much discussed topic of President Bush's propensity to misspeak.

The article points out that when confronted with hostile press, unfamiliar subjects, or unforgiving talking points, Bush often stumbles. For instance, while speaking in front of a group of skeptical minority journalists in Washington last month:

The president got so twisted up in response to a question about tribal sovereignty - "tribal sovereignty means that it's sovereign'' - that the crowd started laughing at him.

Not that we didn't know this already. Bush doesn't like to fly solo over troubled waters. Bush only agreed to testify before the 9/11 commission if he was allowed to have Dick Cheney by his side during the proceedings.

However The Times did have a new take on the cause of some of Bush's oral blunders:

When Mr. Bush is tired, strange things do come out of his mouth.

The Times found that even at George W.'s favorite campaign stops, the "Ask President Bush'' events, where the audience consists of invite-only G.O.P. supporters, Bush can misspeak when not properly rested.

Campaigning Last Monday at a rally in Poplar Bluff, Mo., the president was into his usual riff against malpractice lawsuits when he said, without missing a beat, that "too many Ob-gyns aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country''



- an apparent crossed wire with the president's stump speech to religious groups, in which he invariably says that government cannot put love in a person's heart.

The day before, in Parkersburg, W.Va., Mr. Bush said that he asked Congress last September for $87 billion to help pay for "armor and body parts'' in Afghanistan and Washington.



And two days before that, the president mangled a favorite line about Mr. Kerry and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator John Edwards, who were two of four senators to vote for the use of force in Iraq but against the $87 billion spending package.

"Two of those four,'' Mr. Bush cheerily concluded, "are my running mate and his opponent.''

Being President is not an easy task. Bill Clinton entered the White House in 1992 spry and youthful. 12 years later he is gray and just recently underwent quadruple bypass surgery. John Kerry has also felt the rigors of the campaign trail, and his years in the Senate, allegedly undergoing botox, to remove some of the wrinkles and worry-lines that have accumulated over the years. According to the Times, George W. Bush is suffering from a much more mundane ailment, a lack of sleep.

George W. Bush, a Born Again Christian, has sworn off drugs and alcohol, this decision to abstain from such vices has done much to enhance his image as a plain spoken, sober-thinking, honest man. It has added to his appeal across America's Heartland. However, Bush may want to consider a recent study which found that after 24 hours without sleep, a person's mental and physical skills are as compromised as if he or she had a blood alcohol level of .1 percent, which in many states would fall under the drunk driving statute.



Bush may want to consider taking an afternoon nap if he wants to maintain his image as a plain-spoken, straight-shooter.