LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Presidential candidate George W. Bush may suffer from
  dyslexia, Vanity Fair magazine said on Monday in an article by bestselling author Gail Sheehy
  that the Bush campaign immediately denounced as untrue.

  Sheehy, the author of "Passages" who frequently writes psychological portraits of politicians,
  concludes that Bush's often-mocked malapropisms on the campaign trail could stem from
  dyslexia, a language-based disability in which the sufferer has trouble processing words or
  sentences.

  Among the malapropisms that Sheehy cites as possibly caused by the disability are:
 "Reading is the basics for all learning,"
 "Put food on your family," and
 "He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road."

  Sheehy quotes several experts as saying those sorts of error could be caused by dyslexia.
  She also quoted Houston dyslexia expert Nancy LaFevers as saying, "The errors you've
  heard Gov. Bush make are consistent with dyslexia."

  Sue Horn, the former president of the Maryland branch of the International Dyslexia
  Association, told Sheehy: "Bush is probably dyslexic, although he has probably never been
  diagnosed."

  But Bush spokesman Ray Sullivan said the author "was informed prior to public of this article
  that the governor is not dyslexic. he is still not dyslexic and this is not a credible story. Most
  journalists when presented with the facts would choose to report the facts rather than with
  something that is not true. We consider the story to be not credible.

  Much has been made during the campaign of Bush's linguistic misadventures, including a slip
  last week during a speech in Milwaukee, Wis., in which he referred to America as the
  world's "pacemakers" instead of "peacemakers."

  In other speeches he has referred to an "economically vile hemisphere" instead of an
  economically viable one. He also botched the phrase "tariffs and barriers," calling instead for
  an end to "terriers."

  Sheehy, who conducted 85 interviews with 70 people for the 14-page profile, cited as
  evidence of Bush's possible dyslexia what she said was his short attention span, disinterest in
  reading long reports and less-than-spectacular school grades.

  Clay Johnson, the governor's chief of staff, told Sheehy his boss typically divides his day into
  short bursts of activity, avoiding long meetings and taking a long break at midday.

  Sheehy said Bush also displays other traits common to those who have the disorder, including
  visual acuity and an ability to read body language and faces well.

  She concluded that these abilities serve Bush well as a campaigner, enabling him to connect
  with an audience better than most politicians.