Tag Archives: george bush

PolitiFact tracks the truth + lies that politicians tell. For instance, John McCain has racked up 6 “Pants on Fire” grade claims. Neither Barack Obama nor Sarah Palin have been that egregious (though Obama does have a number of “False” and “Barely True” claims). I was very curious to check out what Joe Biden’s two “Pants on Fire” lies were. The first was when he said that Giuliani was probably the most underqualified man to run for president, and the second was this:

During a campaign stop in Iowa on July 4, the six-term senator declared, “This guy [Pres. Bush] is brain-dead.”

It’s an extreme charge, since brain death is defined as “irreversible unconciousness with complete loss of brain function” (Encyclopedia of Death and Dying).

Needless to say, we find the charge ridiculous. There’s no evidence Biden performed the necessary medical tests to make such a diagnosis. We would have accepted the results of a cerebral blood flow study or proof that Biden had examined Bush to see if he had an oculocephalic reflex.

Indeed, even people who disagree with the president about Iraq and assorted other issues will acknowledge that the president has spontaneous respiration and is responding to stimuli.