Don't Cry For Me, DC

Google "stroke" and "crying." You'll get a lot of hits, including a few scientific papers towards the top. The thing is, what I've heard is true: having a stroke can often result in uncontrolled crying (or laughing, or both). Anybody who's watched Bush père lately has probably noticed his new tendency towards weepiness. To me, he doesn't seem well. Now, I don't have much sympathy for the guy—none, to be honest—but as a question of general human decency it wouldn't be right to make fun of him for a medical condition that's out of his control. We don't know what's happened to him; that's the point. I haven't seen any comment about this, at all, but I have seen endless loops of his most recent crying jag on TV, with much derision accompanying it. I wish the chattering class would just ignore him instead, and move on to other things. (Photo credit: CNN, for fair use.)