I watched the presidential debates tonight at a debate
party held at a sports bar with a bunch of friends,
all of whom got there late. The broadcast was on an
large-screen TV where it was easy to see every detail.
The second I saw Bush, I was shocked at his
appearance. The entire left half of his face was
pulled down. It was especially noticeable looking at
his mouth. All I could think of was the way my
grandmother looked just before she died (she had a
stroke.) Well, the last friend straggled in halfway
through. The very first thing he said to me (before
I’d even said hello) was, “Bush has either had a
stroke, or has Bell’s Palsy.” I told him that there
was no way I noticed that in the first debate, and he
said that it was most likely a stroke then. My friend
is on the faculty at Vanderbilt for academic oncology
research and has an M.D. and two Ph.D’s.
This is really frightening! Does anyone have any idea about what might be going on??
He was too busy for his physical this year they say.
The POTUS has a medical team in attendence constantly, as well as a family and aides who would notice such a thing. I doubt it’s a real stroke or anything else as serious. Besides, if you’re right–PRESIDENT CHENEY!! <everybody jumps>
But it is pretty damn weird. That is more than just a crooked endearing smile.
He’s probably just tired, between the hurricane area visits, the campaigning, and preparing for the debates. That would wear out anybody.
That side of his face seemed mobile enough. I took it as an exaggerated smirk (he’s always had a lopsided smile) that was brought on by tiredness and probably nervousness.
[Moderator Hat ON]
Not really a debate since it does have a factual answer. Off to General Questions.
[Moderator Hat OFF]
Well, actually (last post and then I’m going to bed…)
I kinda doubt it does have a factual answer as far as we’re concerned, since we just don’t have the information we need to make a decision. But I will tell y’all this. My doctor friend explicitly told me that what he saw is symptomatic of a neurological disorder. It cannot be caused by simply “being tired.” Do we have any neurologists on this board??
Scary theory: Bush has some sort of serious neurological problem. The mysterious “bulge” on his back during the first debate was some sort of device designed to stimulate some of his muscles, in order to cover up some of the effects of the problem. This is also why he has seemed to be smirking more often than before - some of his facial muscles are not under control.
None of this has been revealed to the public for fear that it would doom his reelection bid (and it would). And there’s certainly no way Cheney could win the election, and there isn’t any other GOP candidate who could step in. What they’re hoping is that they can hold him together long enough to get him through the election and (they hope) the inauguration, whereupon he can resign, and Dick Cheney can become President.
Sleep tight, boys and girls.
Could be Bell’s Palsy. Does Bush get cold sores? If he’s got HSV, stress can lead to reactivation of the lytic cycle, and perhaps the damage caused by inflammatory responses could give rise to neurological issues such as partial (and probably transient) facial paralysis.
Well, he’s apparently had the smirk thing his whole life–on the Frontline documentary on the two candidates the other night, they mentioned that Bush’s nickname in college was “the lip” because of it.
Glad I’m not the only one to have noticed this. I wondered if a mild stroke, or a series of them, might explain both this and his seeming aphasia and tounge-tiedness.
I agree he looked pathetic. I can’t make the different halves of my face look differently, so I can’t help but think there is a neurological problem. But if so, why would it be intermittent? Wouldn’t one half of his face be “stuck” if it was the case?
I worked for an acupuncturist for several years, and we saw a lot of Bell’s Palsy. Obviously, I can’t diagnose the man, but it doesn’t match the physical appearance of Bell’s Palsy’s patients I’ve seen.
Bell’s Palsy generally causes a much more dramatic droop, including closing the eyelid in some cases, or making the eye impossible to close in others. It is pretty common this time of year (we always saw more cases in the fall and the spring) but it just didn’t look very severe on Bush. It looked like a well-resolved case which had been treated by a good acupuncturist for a week or so - which means he should have been much droopier a week ago.
He did seem awfully chipper, not to mention much more focused and less whiney than usual. Perhaps someone slipped him some speed before he went on? (I’m kidding. I think.)
Slight hijack:
The prospect that the White House is hiding some kind of serious medical problem is frightening. So frightening that I would prefer not to believe it. However, we know this kind of thing happens. The latest example is U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who is running for re-election this year. He’s been behaving erratically and the Republican party has put up more and more barriers to his contact with the public. In his latest action, Bunning (who, by the way, is in the Baseball Hall of Fame), pulled out of a face-to-face debate with his Democratic opponent at the last minute and participated in the debate by telephone from the Republican headquarters in Washington, D.C.
It’s nothing. He broke a string, that’s all. 
Bush’s brother Neil (Neal) also has that smirk thing going. You can see it a little in his father. However… The Atlantic a few months back had an article by James Fallows on the two candidates debating history and styles. Bush’s team has always wanted to keep the camera off of him. On the other hand, Fallows noted that Bush’s language problems seem to be getting worse. This caused a doctor (who has the same name as a doctor who’s published some nutty stuff, not sure if it is the same) to write in that Bush may have some kind of early onset dementia.
More fodder for the pajama people (political bloggers).
:rolleyes: :smack: :dubious:
So how big a droop are we talking about here? I must admit I didn’t watch the debates (couldn’t stomach it), so I didn’t see the putative paralysis people are describing. I’ve seen Bell’s Palsy as well, and you’re right; the affected side of the face can be alarmingly droopy. But, according to my mom, there is a spectrum of severity.
You people are so alarmist. If he had a stroke or any other kind of maxiofacial damage, spittle would build up in the corner of his mouth while he was talking. It would be so distracting that…
Sorry.
Where was I?
I was watching the replay just now.
Good god, will someone hand that man a towel?
Well, it depends on the severity, the timing and the person’s physiology. (Heavyset people seem worse because there’s a lot more flesh to droop.) I tried Googling some pictures, but of course most people with Bell’s Palsy don’t want to be photographed for the internet. I did find this one and this one, which are pretty mild, and this one which I’d consider moderate.
One of our patients was an actor, very overweight, who was stricken with Bell’s Palsy three nights before a new show opened. He was terrified that people would think he was drunk on stage becuase his speech was so slurred. His face really looked like a melted candle, and he had to tape his eye shut at night to sleep. He went to the doctor immediately, but apparently there’s little or nothing they can do for it. They told him it should go away within a few months(!) We had him functional for opening night, and it was cleared up not long after.
Just my little PSA to let people know that acupuncture can get rid of it much sooner - generally a week or two - if it’s treated quickly. Ideally, you want to get into an acupuncturist within 12 hours of onset, if at all possible.
As for Bush, I can’t find any pictures of his “droopy face,” but it was basically just an exaggeration of his usual smirk.
Sure. Like with FDR. Nothing new, certainly.
Well, while I personally think the droop/smirk is something he’s had for decades, I also have seen people with mild Bell’s Palsy (a fellow I worked with until just this past May) whose faces do match that droop. My co-worker only had a lip droop (like Bush), no other paralysis.
Bush is an alleged outdoorsman, and spent a lot of time in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine; maybe he just got bitten by a lyme-infected deer tick?