Bush Derangement Syndrome Explained

In reading a post on Shrinkwrapped today I came across the initials BDS. Of course I wanted to find out what they stood for. My quest took me to a post of Charles Krauthammer in December of 2003, which somehow I missed since I read Krauthammer religiously (Don’t tell the ACLU).

Krauthammer is a psychiatrist who no longer practices but instead writes insightful commentary on Townhall, the Washington Post and Newsweek. He defines the term, Bush Derangement Syndrome as:

“Bush Derangement Syndrome: the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush.”

Read his article to get the full definition of BDS. He concludes with:

The sad news is that there is no cure. But there is hope. There are many fine researchers seeking that cure. Your donation to the BDS Foundation, no matter how small, can help. Mailing address: Republican National Committee, Washington DC, Attention: psychiatric department. Just make sure your amount does not exceed $2,000 ($4,000 for a married couple).

Then, I came across this post titled, “Bush Derangement Syndrome Revisited,”from a psychiatrist who writes the Shrinkwrapped blog. Now I think that we all come across people who have been afflicted with this disease from time to time, so it would be worthwhile to review both the Krauthammer article and the Shrinkwrapped post to get a full understanding of this illness. The MSM and liberals seem to be particularly vulnerable to this incurable affliction.

Shrinkwrapped comments:

In the news today is a report of John Kerry, who appears to have been so damaged by his inexplicable loss to Bush in the last election, that he has been unable to come to terms with his defeat, that he somehow manages to believe, in an almost delusional way, that he can still become President someday soon:

Kerry Touts Bush Impeachment Memo

Failed presidential candidate John Kerry said Thursday that he intends to confront Congress with a document touted by critics of President Bush as evidence that he committed impeachable crimes by falsifying evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

He is now out there with the Deaniacs and others who are convincing themselves that Bush, all Republicans except John McCain, the US Military, and anyone who supports our efforts to win the war in Iraq are evil, sadistic monsters who are much more dangerous than Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. I do not think Bush Derangement Syndrome is a full explanation of this phenomenon.

BDS is only part of a larger syndrome. Illiberal liberals, those who cry “fascist” and “Bushhitler” the loudest, leftists, ranging from outright communists to softer socialists, have defined much of their sense of themselves in terms of the virtues conferred upon them by their superior intellect and superior moral positions.”

He then concludes:

This, then, is what gives Bush Derangement Syndrome its emotional power and passion. If the progressives are wrong about Bush, wrong about the direction of our country, wrong about how best to organize a society and produce freedom and wealth, then they have been wrong for the last 30 years. They would have to accept their complicity in the deaths of millions. They would have to deal with being allied with monsters who killed indiscriminately and sadistically, rather than on the side of the angels. How could they face themselves if they were wrong? Their guilt would be overwhelming. They have chosen to seek protection in their anger even if it is delusional because the alternative would be, literally, unbearable.

You should read the whole article. It explains a lot about the irrational anger and dangerous antics of liberals and those on the left, from a psychological perspective.