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Politicians: They're All Crazy

Blair, Bush, JFK all went nuts, argues ex-doctor and politician

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 15, 2008 3:56 PM CDT

(Newser) – It’s no wonder George W. Bush and Tony Blair messed up in Iraq: They were crazy. At least that’s ex-British politician David Owen’s belief. In his new book, In Sickness and in Power, the ex-doctor explores the health of leaders throughout time. Bush and Blair were afflicted with “Hubris Syndrome,” a medical condition Owen invented to describe the power-mad.

John F. Kennedy, meanwhile, was doing fine until he began injecting diluted cocaine into his back muscles five times a day. Owen says he found the drug use in Kennedy’s medical history. “I couldn’t understand how this man, who handled the Cuban missile crisis so impressively… could have made such a monumental mess of the Bay of Pigs,” he said.

Tony Blairmeets with a religious studies group-class during a visit to a City Academy school, in north London, Thursday April 3, 2008.
Tony Blairmeets with a religious studies group-class during a visit to a City Academy school, in north London, Thursday April 3, 2008.   (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, pool)
U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during a press conference in this file photo.
U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during a press conference in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy   (Magnum Photos)
Power-mad is an apt description of many politicians, David Owen argues in his new book, using John F. Kennedy as one example.
"Power-mad" is an apt description of many politicians, David Owen argues in his new book, using John F. Kennedy as one example.   (KRT Photos)
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