Trying to deal with 'Trump Derangement Syndrome'

As he tells a doctor that things look good, that it’s time to “close up,” and unmasks, it is discovered that the person in the ad is “Not Dr. Stewart.” To which the actor replies, “No, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”

He leaves the room populated with people shaking their heads in wonder and puzzlement.

It was the perfect segue to have some discussion, and maybe offer a few thoughts on treatment of the latest strain of “Presidential Derangement Syndrome.”

I offer a disclaimer, however. It’s been several years since I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express.

From what was discovered, PDS appears to be a periodic ailment that surfaces in this country every four to eight years. And it only germinates in its most virulent forms under certain conditions.

Purely anecdotal evidence suggests this is when a Republican wins a presidential election. Because when one drills down for specific strains, the results seem to bear out the theory.

A recent Google search of “Presidential Derangement Syndrome” generated 62,000 results.

However, get specific and the hits just keep coming.

No surprise here, but by narrowing that search to Trump Derangement Syndrome, it’s a gall darn Mother Lode with 899,000 results.

Like strains of influenza, each variety of PDS has an identifier. RDS for instance — the Ronald Reagan strain — netted just 13,400 results and is not even fools gold flecks by comparison. That’s possibly because over 30 years have passed since his presidency.

History will suggest that PDS was first officially identified in 2000 with “Bush Derangement Syndrome.” The term revealed 46,700 hits and the affliction was driven by the hanging chad election of 2000 delivered a highly controversial victory to George W. Bush over former Vice President Al Gore.

ODS, otherwise known as — yes you guessed it — Obama Derangement Syndrome — produced just 29,000 results. And Clinton Derangement Syndrome, presumably those who are pained over either Hillary and Bill, or both, had 75,500.

No question, President Donald Trump has brought it on himself, not unlike failing to heed your mother’s advice to make sure you wear your warm coat in the winter and catching a nasty cold.

But with a never-ending nasty Nor’ Easter of news, even when solid employment numbers are spun backwards, it’s a little hard to properly dress for the conditions.

The New York Post’s John Podhoretz warned about a possible outbreak of TDS way back in a Sept. 21, 2016 opinion piece, long before the epidemic’s official outbreak on Nov. 8.

“The people I’m talking about are mostly liberals and Democrats who are watching with horror as the election they happily thought Hillary Clinton had put away in August has become a squeaker in September,” Podhoretz observed.

The L.A. Times wrote about symptoms not long after the election. “In the first stage of the disease, victims lose all sense of proportion.” Sound familiar? “The mid-level stages of TDS have a profound effect on the victim’s vocabulary: Sufferers speak a distinctive language consisting solely of hyperbole.”

In my circles — which spans the entire span of political ideologies — TDS has been like an outbreak of mumps. As such, there are no outward sores and scabs as with chicken pox, but just the feeling that all is not well.

With TDS — or whatever strain afflicts you — and like the mumps, there is no cure. The prescribed remedy is rest and relaxation.

Attempting to suggest successful treatment for the unbridled anger that exists today in this country is difficult to say the least. And spending a night in a particular hotel does not make someone instantly smart enough to try.

However, minds are molded and influenced by the company they keep and the information sources they trust. Depending on how those opinions are derived, be they viewed from the left or right or center or wherever, doesn’t the truth reside somewhere in the middle?

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.