Bush Derangement Syndrome

"Bush Derangement Syndrome" ("BDS") is a pejorative political neologism coined by Charles Krauthammer, an American conservative political columnist and former psychiatrist, in a 2003 column. The term has been used in newspaper columns and editorials, on talk radio, by commentators in the mainstream press, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Fox News Channel, and in the blogosphere.

In 2008, derived terms such as "Palin Derangement Syndrome" and "Obama Derangement Syndrome" came into use.

Meaning of term

Krauthammer defined Bush Derangement Syndrome as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush". While Krauthammer's column was somewhat tongue-in-cheek (e.g., "What is worrying epidemiologists about the Dean incident, however, is that heretofore no case had been reported in Vermont, or any other dairy state"), the term indicates a belief that some extreme criticisms of President Bush are of emotional origins rather than based on facts or logic. The term has been widely adopted by other writers in the political arena.

Usage

• Eugene Robinson, “Rage of Reason” The Washington Post, September 11, 2007 "It's official: Bush Derangement Syndrome is now a full-blown epidemic. George W. Bush apparently has reduced more of his fellow citizens to frustrated, sputtering rage than any president since opinion polling began, with the possible exception of Richard Nixon."
• Krugman, Paul (July 20, 2007). "All the President's Enablers". The New York Times: p. A23. http://select.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/opinion/20krugman.html. Retrieved 2007-10-11. "People who worried that the administration was living in a fantasy world used to be dismissed as victims of “Bush derangement syndrome,” liberals driven mad by Mr. Bush’s success. Now, however, it’s a syndrome that has spread even to former loyal Bushies." 
• Kurtz, Howard (September 5, 2007). "Falling for the Spin". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/09/05/BL2007090500503.html. Retrieved 2007-10-11. ""Now Joe Klein prides himself -- quite often, in print -- on being different from nutty, hysterical, suffering-from-Bush-derangement-syndrome left-wing bloggers. But here he is exhibiting nutty, hysterical, Bush derangement syndrome himself." 
• "Dim Moral Clarity". Investor's Business Daily. September 20, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927031230/http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=243644456959958. Retrieved 2007-05-19. "And yet, you'd think those who suffer what Charles Krauthammer has described as "Bush Derangement Syndrome" would at least recognize the terrorist threat we live under." 
• Jed Babbin (October 30, 2006). "Loose Canons: Pre-Election SGO". The American Spectator. http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10552. Retrieved 2007-05-19. "Bush Derangement Syndrome manifests itself differently among its sufferers. In the New York Times's case, it erupts consistently in its eagerness to toss its long-time pals over the side for any measure of deviation from the nutroots fringe." 
• Andrew C. McCarthy (August 21, 2007). "More FISA Fear-Mongering". National Review. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2YwZTAzODk4ZWU2OTRjYjBjMDU2OTk4ODZiZTk0MWY=. Retrieved 2007-08-22. "Bush Derangement Syndrome is such that many people — including the newspaper of record — don’t want to have a serious conversation about the proper balance between privacy and security. They prefer to misrepresent laws and proposals while hinting at dark conspiracies. It would be nice if they’d notice that the Bush administration, for all intents and purposes, is over." 
• Hannity, Sean (May 3, 2007). "Hannity & Colmes: Rage Against Bush". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269842,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-11. "It seems, you know, Bush derangement syndrome, I-hate-George-Bush fanaticism now rules the day." 
• Malkin, Michelle (September 21, 2007). "Bush Derangement Syndrome alert: Cover art of the week". http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/21/bush-derangement-syndrome-alert-cover-art-of-the-week/. Retrieved 2007-10-11. 
• Todd Huston, Warner (September 28, 2007). "AP Scolds Jenna Bush for 'Ducking Iraq' Questions". Newsbusters. http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2007/09/28/ap-scolds-jenna-bush-ducking-iraq-questions. Retrieved 2007-10-11. "This is just another example of the AP's Bush Derangement Syndrome where they cannot even have a nice, happy story about the daughter of the president announcing her engagement and talking about helping the poor without badgering her about policies she has nothing to do with." 

Variants / spinoffs

• The Washington Times columnist Richard Haddad suggested that a similar term, "Bush-hating disorder", be used, defining it as "a condition in which a person feels and expresses a degree of antipathy toward former U.S. President George W. Bush that is grossly out of proportion to any remark, proposal, or action of the former President, or to any combination of such or to the sum of Mr. Bush's weaknesses as the leader of his country."
• The term Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS) began to be used in the blogosphere in 2008. It has also been used in reference to reviews of Sarah Palin's best-selling memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life.
• Clinton Derangement Syndrome (CDS) relates to irrational criticism of Bill and Hillary Clinton. At the time, "Clinton crazies" was the term more frequently used.
• Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODS) is used to describe criticism of Barack Obama such as the Obama citizenship controversy; it has been used by political commentators such as David Horowitz as well as by reporters such as ABC News' Jake Tapper. A related term with similar meaning is Baracknophobia (a portmanteau of the words "Barack" and "arachnophobia"), which was originally coined in 2008 by political satirist Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Stewart jokingly defined the term as "an irrational fear of hope."

See also

• The Paranoid Style in American Politics
• Public image of George W. Bush
• Negative campaigning
• Opinions and ideas held by Charles Krauthammer

External links

• "The choice of anger", blog post at "The American Thinker", January 5, 2004 — a supporting view
• "Bush-Hating Nation: Anatomy of an epithet", Steve Rendall, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, May/June 2006 — a skeptical view
• Charles Krauthammer, "Bush Derangement Syndrome, Cheney Variant", RealClearPolitics, March 16, 2007 — Krauthammer develops the idea further