Whiskey Bar: At a Loss for Words:
Now the idea that the 43rd president of the United States may have a severe, probably undiagnosed, learning disability isn’t a very original thought. (In his book, Dr. Levine also mentions that such disabilities sometimes seem inherited. Anyone who remembers 41’s own ferocious, but losing, battles with the English language might suspect the same.)
Billmon mentions this documentary as a helpful guide to understanding learning disabilities, some of which seem to be diagnosed as personality traits rather than problems.
He goes on to cite more of Dr Levine’s work, especially with the incarcerated, documenting the link between poor linguistic ability and impulse control:
In other words, those who can’t articulate their own thoughts may be literally incapable of talking themselves out of doing dangerous and/or illegal things – like, say, trading arms for hostages, or secretly subsidizing a Central American guerrilla army, or invading a large Middle Eastern country. As Levine says: “If you can’t talk out your temptations, you capitulate.”
Bill Clinton had his own issues with self-control but I don’t recall anyone dying as a result of any of it . . .