Bushspeak

[Derrick Chapman]

I don't know if I'd characterize the Vanity Fair article as mean-spirited.
It did raise a couple of questions in my mind:

We all get tongue-tied and verbally stumble to some degree.  At what
threshold does it change from "normal" to "dyslexic?"  Do situational
factors like fatigue, stress, blood sugar levels, alcohol or hangover levels
change the threshold between normality (or normalcy)and dysfunction?

Some people (especially kids) get sleepy when they read.  The back-and-forth
movement of the eyes, the rhythmic flow of word and whitespace, the
detachment from the external world in favor of the internal one, and
eventually sleepytime begins.  Does this indicate a medical condition beyond
the standard deviation?  Should this disqualify them from future office?

Don't get me wrong--this is a list of rhetorical questions.  A decisive test
for dyslexia doesn't exist, probably because dyslexia isn't a yes/no
ailment.

Some folks are ready to say, he's just a poor guy with a disability.  Cut
him some slack and give him the pity vote.

Other folks are ready to say, he's got some actual brain-damage  that we
can't have in a Chief Executive.

Doesn't matter to me.  Politics aside, I'm watching how people view
disabilities as a whole.  The stereotypic soft-hearted liberals aren't
applying the Americans With Disabilities Act philosophy to W.  And W. is
afraid to grab the ADA shield in his defense because conservatives have
always maintained that compassion shouldn't overrule merit and ability.

Funny world, huh?