How does Bush sleep at night? Apparently, quite well

December 15, 2006

Apparently, towards the end of the last several years, the President and First Lady sit down with [tag]People[/tag] magazine for an annual chat. No one really expects any breaking news from People, but this year’s interview produced an interesting comment.

People’s interviewer also mentioned that readers had asked if he takes sleep aids. Bush said generally not, but he does occasionally when he travels.

“I must tell you, I’m [tag]sleeping[/tag] a lot better than people would assume,” he said.

I’m not sure what possessed [tag]Bush[/tag] to say such a thing. The implication seems to be that he imagines most Americans look at unraveling world events and global crises and think, “Boy, I bet this is the kind of stuff that would keep a president up at night.” To which Bush seems to suggest, “Nope, everything’s fine here!”

Even as far as public perceptions are concerned, it’s the kind of comment that reinforces the worst suspicions about the man. Given what we’ve seen over the last several years, it seems Bush is oddly detached, living in a bubble of his own creation, sealed off from the reality-based world.

I don’t want to read too much into a stray, probably-innocent comment, but for too long, the president has reveled in blissful ignorance. Boasting about how well he sleeps at night, despite ongoing catastrophes that he helped create, is the surest way to know that a president who seems dangerously out of touch is, in fact, dangerously out of touch.

By the way, the interview with People also included the first interview questions about Mary Cheney having a baby.

In the issue, Bush makes his first on-the-record comments on the Mary Cheney pregnancy.

Responding to a question about his 2005 comment that “a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman”, the President said that the Vice President’s openly gay daughter is going to be “a loving soul to her child”.

“The Vice President took me aside and gave me the good news. He and his wife, Lynne, are very happy for Mary,” Bush said. “I think Mary is going to be a loving soul to her child. And I’m happy for her.”

Well, I’m delighted to hear the president take such a progressive attitude, but the far-right GOP base isn’t going to be happy at all.

Man, fuck that guy.

I lose sleep at night over my work and I clean fish tanks for a living.

  • Given that he’s too stupid to realize what afuckup he is – combined with a lifetime of blowing off one failure after another tothe point of being used to it – I have no doubt he sleeps soundly. Like the rockhead he is.

  • When he says shit like this I really do wonder if there isn’t something wrong with him.

    Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger’s Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills.

  • I don’t want to read too much into a stray, probably-innocent comment

    Don’t worry — the past six years have long since forefeited any claim Bush might have to the benefit of the doubt.

  • “I think Mary is going to be a loving soul to her child. And I’m happy for her.”

    Loving soul? She’s a ghost?

    Why not “loving parent”? Maybe I’m reading into this too much, but that is such a bizarre comment to call someone who’s having a baby.

  • Of course he sleeps well, in his mind Iraq is going splendidly and, despite the fact that he’s less popular then a leper with gangrene, he’s convinced history will vindicate him.

    (Apologies to lepers everywhere)

  • 2Manchu wrote: “Why not “loving parent”?”

    I had exactly the same impression. I don’t think you’re reading too much into it – avoiding the word ‘parent’ allows Bush to tacitly tell his base that he doesn’t consider gays to be ‘parents’ of children.

  • “I must tell you, I’m sleeping a lot better than people would assume,” he said.

    no shit, Sherlock. he left off the parts about his sleep meds AND his lit-tle pilly w/o which he can’t sleep. i fucking was sleepless for three weeks through Katrina as well as throughout the night of the fucked 04 ‘election’ as well as after.

    CB: I’m not sure what possessed Bush to say such a thing.

    why? he doesn’t give a good goddamn what ANYone thinks.

    stoopit fucker.

  • Notice no mention of Heather Poe, Mary Cheney’s partner. Bush is so politically instinctual, even cunning, with his base. You dance with who brung ya, I guess. Unfortunately, it’s dancing on the Titanic around midnight.

  • Two obvious retorts:

    Yeah, but does he dream of robotic sheep?

    and…

    Of course he sleeps well, he’s a fucking sociopath. What, this is news to anyone?

  • “I must tell you, I’m sleeping a lot better than people would assume,” he said.

    IMO this tells you he is not sleeping well. He’s trying to deny the reality of the people who haunt him, the ones he knows will write the history he keeps telling us will eventually vindicate him.

    One thing I have learned is that you can take almost everything Bush says and turn it around, and there in plain sight will be the truth.

    The man is probably being drugged heavily to get him to sleep, and he still wakes up screaming “get me a new historian!” He sees how Nixon is remembered, and he’s seeing his own face taking over Nixon’s slot for worst president ever.

    You bet he’s sleeping well.

  • I still do not sleep well post-Katrina, and nothing works to help. And I moved away from the Gulf Coast 6 months ago.

  • From Wikipedia:

    Antisocial Personality Disorder, (Sociopath)

    Approximately 4% of men and 7% of women are thought to have some form of antisocial personality disorder according to the DSM-IV.

    Central to understanding individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, or at least psychopathy, is that they appear to experience a limited range of human emotions. This can explain their lack of empathy for the suffering of others, since they cannot experience the emotion associated with either empathy or suffering. Risk-seeking behavior and substance abuse may be attempts to escape feeling empty or emotionally void. The rage exhibited by psychopaths and the anxiety associated with certain types of antisocial personality disorder may represent the limit of emotion experienced, or there may be physiological responses without analogy to emotion experienced by others.

    Research has shown that individuals with antisocial personality disorder are indifferent to the possibility of physical pain or many punishments, and show no indications that they experience fear when so threatened. This may explain their apparent disregard for the consequences of their actions, and their aforementioned lack of empathy.

    ________________________________

    And I’ll bet Cheney’s sleeping like a baby as well. The dysfunction twins. Aren’t we lucky.

  • Anyone who cares about what he or she does for a living loses sleep over it.
    –T Moore

    Well … that explains why I sleep quite well every night. 😉

    And maybe why Bush does as well …

  • ABC reported yesterday that

    President Bush awoke Thursday to news of Johnson’s condition, said first lady Laura Bush. “We’re praying like I know all the people of South Dakota are for his very, very speedy recovery,” Mrs. Bush told CBS’s “Early Show.”

    Let’s recall that news of Johnson illness broke Wednesday afternoon. Although Bush spent Wednesday at the Pentagon being “briefed” on Iraq, he should have been informed of this by early evening Wednesday. But it wasn’t until Thursday morning that he got the news. One explanation for this would be that after hear all the bad news about Iraq, perhaps for the first time, he went home and tied one on. Hence he was in no condition to be informed about Johnson.
    His self-proclaimed general ability to sleep may be the result of his drinking.

  • No conscience, no depth of soul or brain, and ignorance, all help to bestow an easy sleep. Achohol or drug destroyed brain, sociopath whatever the root cause….this is one scary person to have at our nation’s helm.

  • Bush is a good Christian…

    If anything, this would lead me to doubt that he sleeps as well as he claims. I could almost tolerate Bush’s meanness if I knew that he stayed awake at night praying for forgiveness. I mean, maybe he thinks it’s the job of a national leader to do things that an ordinary Christian must abhor, like executing criminals or smashing enemies before they strike you on the cheek.

    The latest Bush act that would put a good Christian in turmoil: appealing the “currency for the blind” ruling. Officially, Bush has to argue this is a bad idea. Privately, I would hope that he’d be thinking of a scripture he must have come across in his years of (alleged) Bible study:

    Leviticus 19:14 “Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.”

  • Bush is a typical Christian, he knows which bible verses to completely ignore…

    Leviticus 19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

    Bush: HAHAHAHAHAHA! That’s a good one!

  • Yep, he sleeps in the arms of his pals Bud Weiser and Jim Beam. Move over Laura.

    I noticed a while ago that Bush seems curiously immune to the instant aging presidents usually undergo. Really, look at him. He doesn’t look like some one who has been running the most powerful nation in the world, fighting two wars for almost two terms, not to mention the other disasters that have struck this nation. The fact that he doesn’t care would explain a lot.

    tAiO

    I won’t comment on what a bad idea it is for supposedly “cured” addicts to take sleeping pills.

  • I noticed a while ago that Bush seems curiously immune to the instant aging presidents usually undergo. — TAIO, @25

    Dorian Grey syndrome?

    One other possible interpretation of his “I’m sleeping a lot better than people would assume” is that he knows that a lot of people wish him nightmares every night and that he’s saying “nya, nya, nya, sticks and stones, but not your prayers”.

  • I have Asperger’s Syndrome. Trust me, Bus doesn’t. Most Asperger’s folk have high intelligence and would be high achievers if they could “read the room” – which they can’t.

  • Judging by how much he grins when talking about Iraq, I would have been surprised if he lost sleep over it. He just doesn’t get it.

  • The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines antisocial personality disorder as a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

    1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
    2. deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
    3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
    4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated fights or assaults (both physically or mentally)
    5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others
    6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations
    7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

    I’m just saying.

  • Not a single one of you thinks for himself.
    Your vulgar schoolyard name calling exposes your own characters far more than W’s.
    But what most comforts to me in your remarks is that those Presidents who were treated to the same viscious prattle by the rabble were later judged by history to be our greatest.
    So “stoopit” is he?
    How many of you graduated from Yale and Harvard?
    Or just what is it about good character that enrages you?
    My mistake …you wouldn’t know good character if it bit you in the nose.
    Rave on O fools eternal.

  • Umm did a Bush supporter post before me and stop this discussion. They brough up a great point, I am also sure that historians will put Bush in his place! 🙂

  • OK. I see. Bush displays his “character” thusly:

    Refers to wife as a “lump in the bed beside me.”
    Crosses an entire restaurant to call Bill Press an SOB in front of his wife and young child
    Mocks a woman on the verge of being executed
    Commits repeated felonies with illegal wire tapping
    Gives his tacit approval to torture
    Promotes himself as an honorable veteran when in fact the last year of his “service” can’t be accounted for
    Lets his campaign people actively spread lies about actual honorable verterans such as John McCain and John Kerry
    Has no compunction about dropping bombs on innocent brown people and letting other innocent brown people drown

    Bush’s character really does speak for itself.

    Comment by HopingforChangein08 4/30/07

  • Pure and fucking simple: George Bush is a Sociopath.

    When reading the list below of the traits of a sociopath I can cite AT LEAST one, sometimes dozens of examples of Bush expressing the said trait. It started to become a game for me, until I realized how goddamned FRIGHTENING the reality of the fact is, that this man is in contol of the so-called “most powerful nation on earth” !

    *********************************************************

    Profile of the Sociopath

    Glibness and Superficial Charm

    Manipulative and Conning
    They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.

    Grandiose Sense of Self
    Feels entitled to certain things as “their right.”

    Pathological Lying
    Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.

    Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
    A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.

    Shallow Emotions
    When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.

    Incapacity for Love

    Need for Stimulation
    Living on the edge. Verbal outbursts and physical punishments are normal. Promiscuity and gambling are common.

    Callousness/Lack of Empathy
    Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others’ feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.

    Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
    Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.

    Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
    Usually has a history of behavioral and academic difficulties, yet “gets by” by conning others. Problems in making and keeping friends; aberrant behaviors such as cruelty to people or animals, stealing, etc.

    Irresponsibility/Unreliability
    Not concerned about wrecking others’ lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.

    Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
    Promiscuity, child sexual abuse, rape and sexual acting out of all sorts.

    Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
    Tends to move around a lot or makes all encompassing promises for the future, poor work ethic but exploits others effectively.

    Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility
    Changes their image as needed to avoid prosecution. Changes life story readily.

    ——————————————————————————–

    Other Related Qualities:

    Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
    Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
    Authoritarian
    Secretive
    Paranoid
    Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
    Conventional appearance
    Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
    Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim’s life
    Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim’s affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
    Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
    Incapable of real human attachment to another
    Unable to feel remorse or guilt
    Extreme narcissism and grandiose
    May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

    *******************************************

    This motherfucker HAS GOT TO BE STOPPED ! ! !

  • I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100% regarding does Bush sleep at night? Apparently, quite well – The Carpetbagger Report, but it’s just my opinion, which could be wrong 🙂

  • He sleeps well knowing that the LIBS trying to take his postition are fighting it out until the convention. He rests easy knowing that a right wing talk show host can sway the Texas vote, keeping the SOCIALIST movement on hold, until one will slip up and pull a Howard Dean.
    Insomnia is not an issue for the prez, thinking of the millions of dollars spent by the Bitch and the Muslim leader, when it should be going in the war chest to take on the War Hero in the fall.

    REST EASY MY COMMUNIST FRIENDS

    • Comments are closed.