text: Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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  Saturday, November 13. 2010 Is this image via Moonbattery fair, or just a cheap ad hominen shot along the lines of "Bush is retarded"? Name-calling. As I understand it, "narcissism" covers a spectrum from wholesome self-respect (which must be earned), to dangerous sociopathy (manifested by an inability to care about, or even to deeply recognize, the existence of others except as tools). The Wiki piece on Malignant Narcissism says this:
  That sounds pretty bad. To understand these things, one really needs to understand in detail how a person relates to others and what they mean to him. You can't do that by watching somebody on TV. Here's a post on the topic: Narcissism in High-Functioning Individuals – Big Ego or Severe Disorder? Comments
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  Swell, Bird Dog.
  Glad yall cleared up that el presidente ain't narcissist, at least not anti-social kind. Centrist moniker gets clearer everyday. Nevertheless, el presidente-elect's televised statement "Understand where the vision for change comes from, first and foremost, It comes from me." suggests he may be megalomaniacal. "I have a gift."
  "The difference is that this time you have me." "Don't make me look bad." "What about the compliments?" "We are the ones we've been waiting for." Well, after 3 years of looking for signs of who this man is, what his character is like ... we have yet to hear of anyone telling us what a good and loyal long-term friend this man has been to them.
  No one has told us of how they've known him for years and can vouch for his kindness, his consideration for others, his integrity, etc. Absolutely none of that has appeared, from a press gaggle which would certainly bring it out, if it were there. But I'll be willing to bet that the average Maggie's Farm reader can easily find two or three people willing to give that kind of character reference for them. - - Nothing about Obama indicates that he is trustworthy or personally reliable. And I think the picture above is, indeed, accurate and fair. Fair.
  I'm convinced he accepted the presidency as a steppingstone to bigger and better things. Heh, I recently commented over at Don Surber's place that Barack follows the PUA communities' model of female behavior. Spurn friendlies and cozy up to jerks.
  "Steppingstone to bigger and better things" once again resonates with PUA's idea of feminine psychology, that women are constantly on the lookout for a "Bigger Better Deal" in relationships. I had no idea what a PUA was.
  Now that I know, I don't want to know. :>) Another PUA community concept that fits Obama to a T.
  Eternal Solipsism of the Female Mind. "Solipsism, noun, : a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing; also : extreme egocentrism" Essentially narcissism carried to infinity. No thing and no one else matters because they don't really exist. This removes all basis for empathy because the feelings of non-existent beings clearly do not matter. This would explain Barack's extraordinary ineptitude whenever he actually tries to do something, from the failure with the Chicago Olympics committee, to calling the German leader to chew her out for succeeding where he failed, to his leading the Democratic party over the cliff, to his recent disaster at G20, to chewing gum while watching Kabuki theater. In this case Google is not your friend. I think Looking Glass is referring to Pick Up Artist.
  Um....well, nothing for it - again with the oddball opinion. :>)
  I respect the Office of The President. I might not like or have voted for the person who holds the title President of The United States, but he (or she should that ever happen) should be accorded the respect that the office demands. Like it or not, Barack Obama is the President - thus he, as President, is entitled to some dignity and respect. Unlike the moonbats who loudly proclaimed that President G. W. Bush "was not my President" and made unfair comparisons to Facist leaders. This does not fall under the heading of dignity or respect so yes, I think it is unfair. To the question of narcissism, I had to call my daughter to get a layman's explanation. There are six agreed upon characteristics. Generally speaking, if the subject exhibits any three of these characteristics then they are narcissists. They are patholoical is they exhibit four or more signs. 1 - Positive. Narcissists think they are better than others. The President wrote two auto biographies before he had accomplished any particular success in either the academic or public arenas. Berlin speech. Greek Revival setting for acceptance speech in a venue different than he was nominated in (the first time that has ever happened). 2 - Special. Narcissists perceive themselves to be unique and special people. Anybody who references himself in speeches as often as President Obama (1,600 times at last count) would seem to fit. Plus, his campaign appearance in Berlin, the ridiculous "Office of The President Elect", his own President Elect Seal - yeah, that one fits. 3 - Inflated. Narcissists' views tend to be contrary to reality. In measures which compare self-report to objective measures, narcissists' self-views tend to be greatly exaggerated. "‘Well, the big difference 2010 and in ’94 was you’ve got me." If you look at his advisors, they are all long time intimate mentors and enablers who praise his intellectual heft and superior aloof demeanor as "special". So, objectively from this layman's opinion, yes - he is a narcissist. Then again, most politicians are. So I don't think that is a disqualification on the face of it. "Is this image via Moonbattery fair, or just a cheap ad hominen shot along the lines of 'Bush is retarded'?"
  Of course it's not fair and of course it's a cheap ad hominem shot. But so what? Check the political cartoons in the newspapers of any country anywhere and you'll realize it comes with the territory if you're a politician. Hell, when Bush was president, they even made a film depicting his assassination - the 2006 British "mockumentary", Death of a President, which won about half a dozen awards. That set the bar pretty low, I'd say! Seem's pretty much accurate. This is the man who just before the election tells Republicans they have to sit in the back. Only a fool would speak like that. An arrogant Narcissistic fool.
  I used to get pretty irritated at the way the Dem's talked about Bush. Now, I figure turn about is fair play. Things got pushed pretty far by the Dem's and it's payback time. On November 13th, Dr. Sanity had a very good clinical analysis of narcissism, good and bad.
  That sounds pretty bad. To understand these things, one really needs to understand in detail how a person relates to others and what they mean to him. You can't do that by watching somebody on TV.
  You can if you know what to look for. As the daughter of a clinical narcissist, I've learned to recognize the signs that both indicate and rule out narcissism. Obama's upbringing--having been rejected by two fathers and even a mother who deliberately pawned him off on her parents--provides the appropriate setting in which narcissism might develop. Absent this rejection, the narcissism doesn't happen. Obama's reliance on grandiose settings and grandiose-sounding speeches--without realizing how absurd and vapid they are, is another clue. Obama's two autobiographies, which preceded any meaningful achievements, is another clue. Obama's expectation of admiration and praise without concomitant accomplishments is another clue. Obama's mere figurehead status at the Harvard Law Review, wherein he basked in the glory without lifting a finger (as recounted by classmate Carol Platt Liebau), is another clue. Obama's overuse of first-person singular pronouns is a clue. Obama's belief in his Messianic image is a clue. Obama's ability to hypnotize those who are reverse narcissists--those who yearn for an Ideal Other to worship--is a clue (only narcissists fill the bill this well). Obama's inability to graciously ignore criticism--his compulsive lashing-out at everyone from SCOTUS judges to Boston cops--is another clue. Obama's inability to adapt to changing circumstances--such as giving a grandiose speech every time his poll numbers drop, even though his speeches CAUSE the numbers to drop--is a clue. Obama's behind-the-scenes haughtiness (reported by insiders), which also expresses itself in his public body language, is a clue. I suspected him of being a malignant narcissist from the beginning, and everything he has done has served to confirm my suspicions. Pundits have generated a lot of pixelage wondering WTF when he does this or that, but if you combine narcissism with leftism, it all adds up perfectly. He has done NOTHING to rule out narcissism, e.g., compromise on or rethink a position, admit to a mistake without backhandedly blaming someone else for it, graciously respond to or ignore criticism, exhibit genuine class or humility. True, I don't know how he relates to his family, but that's not necessary for me to conclude that he's got a personality disorder. My narcissist father is not a danger to society (narcissists fall on a continuum, from mild to extreme), and his sadism consists not in physical torture but in laughing at or lashing out at people who are in distress instead of feeling empathy. If you knew him, you'd never know he was a narcissist. If you accept that Obama is a radical leftist with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, his actions will confirm it every every day, and you will be able to predict with amazing accuracy how he will react to new situations. So some here, on a site that is certainly not pro-Obama, are asking if Obama-bashing is fair.
  I'd be interested in knowing if any site that was not pro-Bush asked if the Bush-bashing was fair. Here's a recent Obama quote provided by Kristol (h/t Hot Air): "At his November 12 press conference in Seoul, President Obama was asked the following question by CBS’s Chip Reid: ‘What was the number-one complaint, concern, or piece of advice that you got from foreign leaders about the U.S. economy and your stewardship of the economy?’
  “Whereupon the president began his response with a complaint: ‘What about compliments?’ he asked. ‘You didn’t put that in the list.’” Only a narcissist--someone with a distorted understanding of how other people think--would say that with a straight face. Endless are the examples, including observations that Obama seems to think that the U.S. presidency just isn't big enough for someone as awesome as he is. Look at what BFF Valerie Jarret says, also without a whit of insight into what she's revealing: "I think Barack knew that he had God-given talents that were extraordinary. He knows exactly how smart he is. … He knows how perceptive he is. He knows what a good reader of people he is. And he knows that he has the ability — the extraordinary, uncanny ability — to take a thousand different perspectives, digest them and make sense out of them, and I think that he has never really been challenged intellectually. … So, what I sensed in him was not just a restless spirit but somebody with such extraordinary talents that had to be really taxed in order for him to be happy. … He’s been bored to death his whole life. He’s just too talented to do what ordinary people do." A belief that you're so damn special that you have exactly nothing in common with the rest of humanity--and therefore should never be burdened by anything ordinary or mundane--is one of the most blatant red flags for clinical narcissism that you can find. I realize that it's hazardous to diagnose someone remotely, but damn if this man isn't a textbook case. I have no use for the man as a leader, but I agree that some of the diagnosing is over the top. In private life he'd be an unexceptional example of a slightly foolish man who's not good at accomplishing much, preferring instead to moon about why life is unfair and how hard it is to be sure about anything. Those fairly ordinary failings simply come into extreme focus when he's elected President.
  I've been reading "Decision Points." George W. Bush isn't a brilliant man or a one-in-a-billion leader. He's a solid fellow from a psychologically reasonable upbringing who's just introspective to kick himself in the butt when necessary to do a better job taking responsibility for his life. He learned enough about communicating basic ideas to people, and about setting clear goals for organizations and holding people to account, that he could function as an effective executive. Fairly ordinary people can be either good or bad executives without being demons or saints. My biggest problem with Mr. Obama is not his psychology but his allegiance to pernicious ideologies. He soaked up that kind of thing from his environment, and wasn't enough of an original thinker to depart from them. Bush was fairly conventional as well; I just agree more with the ideas he soaked up. I do think Mr. Obama gets a few too many jollies from having people fawn on him. That's a temptation a lot of us would be subject to in his position, and a good reason why most of us wouldn't be very good presidents. Mr. Bush didn't seem much prone to that kind of thing. Texan99 ... Most of your analysis of Obama is spot on, especially your comment that Obama wasn't enough of an original thinker to depart from the pernicious ideologies he soaked up as a child. This goes along with the comments of his fellow lecturers and professors at the University of Chicago, who stated that he was pretty lazy, and didn't partticipate in teachers' meetings, although he was merely a lecturer and not a tenured professor. But, as most of us know, if lecturers want to become tenured, they'd better attend professors' meetings, so the tenured guys can tell them that they're wrong. Or lazy.