> [a letter in the current ish of The Atlantic Monthly]
>
> President Bush's "mangled" words are a demonstration of what
> physicians call "confabulation," and are almost specific to the
> diagnosis of a true dementia. Bush should immediately be given the
> advantage of a considered professional diagnosis, and started on
> drugs that offer the possibility of retarding the slow but inexorable
> course of the disease.
Wishful thinking, but I think completely wrong. Bush's speaking style is more likely to be a superbly crafted campaign to sway people who find that style of speaking appealing, aka Boobus Americanus or much of the "middle America" (see my previous posting son this subject).
Bush knows darn well that he is hated by much of the cultural/intellectual establishment on the East and West shores no matter what he says. His only chance is swaying enough Boobus Americanuses in several key states to tip the election in his favor - so he does that in the most effective way, by the use of vernacular that appeals to these folks. And he is really good at that.
See an excellent article in the current issue of New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040913fa_fact1
Wojtek