Insanity Runs in the White House

I always thought George W. was a bit crazy, perhaps even nuts (on the order of Tom Cruise)? And now it appears that there is evidence suggesting that it may be true.

According to a study by Duke Medical School, almost half the presidents from 1789-1974 suffered from some form of mental illness at some point of their life. (side note: They only looked at dead presidents... I wonder why.) Depression was the most common affliction. Although I recall from history class that Lincoln, and more particularly his wife Mary Todd, suffered from depression (understandable given the situation of the country and the death of their son), I did not realize how widespread the problem was. It is suspected that Teddy Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson suffered from a bipolar disorder. The case of Teddy Roosevelt is especially surprising given that history has always portrayed him as vigorous and energetic. It is hard to reconcile that with today's Prozac addicted bipolar patient. Other presidents thought to have suffered from mental illness include Calvin Coolidge (depression), Ulysses Grant, and Tricky Dick.

I would be curious to see a similar study run for First Ladies. Many of them suffered as well. Which leads to the question of whether the symptoms researchers found are related to genetics or environment and stress induced.

So does this prove that George W is insane? Perhaps that is wishful thinking. But the results to seem to suggest that there is a propensity for American Presidents to become mentally ill. And in the interim, we can certainly agree that while not mentally ill, George W is mentally challenged.