Obama '08?

A Shrink Asks: What's Wrong with Obama?
By Robin of Berkeley [a Recovering Lib] - June 11, 2010 - American Thinker

So what is the matter with Obama? Conservatives have been asking this question for some time. I've written a number of articles trying to solve the mystery.

Even some liberals are starting to wonder. James Carville railed about Obama's blasé attitude after the catastrophic oil spill. The New York Times' Maureen Dowd revamped Obama's "Yes We Can" motto into "Will We Ever?"

The liberal women of the TV show "The View" have expressed sympathy for Michelle Obama's living with a man so out of touch. Peggy Noonan, hardly a vehement Obama foe, recently pronounced him disconnected.

Obama's odd mannerisms intrigue a psychotherapist like me. He also presents a serious diagnostic challenge.

For one, Obama's teleprompter and the men behind the Blackberry keep him well-scripted. But we know so little about the facts of his life.

But it's more than just a lack of information. Obama himself is a strange bird. He doesn't fit easily into any diagnostic category.

Many people attribute Obama's oddness to his narcissism. True, Obama has a gargantuan ego, and he is notoriously thin-skinned.

Yet a personality disorder like narcissism does not explain Obama's strangeness: his giggling while being asked about the economy; his continuing a shout-out rather than announcing the Ft. Hood shootings; or his vacations, golfing, partying and fundraising during the calamitous oil spill.

Take also Obama's declaring on the "Today Show" that he wants to know whose "ass to kick". Consummate narcissists would never stoop to this vulgar display of adolescent machismo.

Obama is flat when passion is needed; he's aggressive when savvy is required. What's most worrisome is that Obama doesn't even realize that his behavior is inappropriate.

So if it's not just simple narcissism, what is wrong with Obama? Since I've never evaluated him, I can't say for sure. But I can hazard some educated guesses.

If I saw a client as disconnected as him, the first thing I would wonder: Is something wrong with his brain? And I'd consider the following theoretical diagnostic possibilities.

--Physical problems: There are a multitude of physiological conditions that can cause people to act strangely. For instance: brain injuries, endocrine disturbances, epilepsy, and toxic chemical exposure.

It makes me wonder: Did Obama ever have a brain injury? His stepfather in Indonesia was purportedly an alcoholic abuser. Was Obama subject to any physical abuse?

-- Drugs and alcohol: Damage to the brain from drugs and alcohol can also cause significant cognitive impairments. Obama once said that there were 57 states -- and didn't correct himself. Memory problems can be caused by both illicit and prescription drug use.

Obama admits to a history of drug use in his youth. Did his usage cause some damage? Does Obama still use?

--Asperger's Syndrome: Also known as high-functioning autism, Asperger's causes deficits in social skills. A person with Asperger's can't read social cues. Consequently, he can be insensitive and hurtful without even knowing it.

Could Obama have Asperger's? He might have some mild traits, but certainly not the full-blown disorder. In contrast to Obama, those with Asperger's get fixated on some behavior, like programming computers. Obama lacks this kind of passion and zeal.

--Mental Illness: Obama's family tree is replete with the unbalanced. His maternal great-grandmother committed suicide. His grandfather, Stanley Dunham, was particularly unhinged: He was expelled from high school for punching his principal; named his daughter Stanley because he wanted a boy; and exposed young Barry to not just drunken trash talk, but unrestricted visits with alleged pedophile Frank Marshall Davis (who might or might not be Obama's biological father). Barack Sr. was an abusive, alcoholic bigamist

Since mental illness runs in the family, does Obama have any signs? Yes and no. No, he is not a schizophrenic babbling about Martians. But there are red flags for some other conditions.

While Obama doesn't appear to hallucinate, he seems to have delusions. His believing he has a Messiah-like special gift smacks of grandiose delusions. His externalizing all blame to conservatives, George W. Bush, or the "racist" bogeyman hints at persecutory delusions.

Along with a delusional disorder, Obama may fit for a mild psychotic disorder called schizotypal disorder. It may explain some of Obama's oddness.

People with schizotypal disorder hold bizarre beliefs, are suspicious and paranoid, and have inappropriate and constricted affect. They have few close friends and are socially awkward. A schizotypal is someone like your strange cousin Becky who is addicted to astrology, believes she is psychic, and is the oddball at social gatherings.

Schizotypal Disorder does ring some bells vis-à-vis Obama. One way the diagnosis doesn't fit, however, is that schizotypals are generally harmless, odd ducks. Not so with Obama.

--Trauma: My gut tells me that Obama was seriously traumatized in childhood. His mother disregarded his basic needs, dragged him all over the place, and ultimately abandoned him.

But I think there may be something even more insidious in his family background. While I can't prove it, the degree of Obama's disconnect reminds me of my sexually abused clients.

With serious sexual abuse, the brain chemistry may change. The child dissociates -- that is, disconnects from his being -- in order to cope. Many adult survivors still dissociate, from occasional trances to the most extreme cases of multiple personality disorder.

Apparently, young Barry was left in the care of Communist Frank Marshall Davis, who admitted to molesting a 13-year-old girl. As a teenager, Obama wrote a disturbing poem, "Pop," that evoked images of sexual abuse -- for instance, describing dual amber stains on both his and "Pop's" shorts.

Would trauma explain Obama's disconnect? In many ways, yes. A damaged and unattached child may develop a "false self." To compensate for the enormous deficits in identity and attachment, the child invents his own personality. For Obama, it may have been as a special, gifted person.

Let's return now to my original question: What is wrong with Obama? My guess is a great deal. The answer is complex and likely includes some combination of the above.

Along with the brain issues are personality disorders: narcissism, paranoia, passive-aggressiveness. There's even the possibility of the most destructive character defect of all, an antisocial personality. Untreated abuse can foster antisocial traits, especially among boys.

If my assessment is accurate, what does this mean?

It means that Liberals need to wake up and spit out the Kool-Aid...and that Conservatives should put aside differences, band together, and elect as many Republicans as possible.

Because Obama will not change. He will not learn from his mistakes. He will not grow and mature from on-the-job experience. In fact, over time, Obama will likely become an even more ferocious version of who he is today.

Why? Because this is a damaged person. Obama's fate was sealed years ago growing up in his strange and poisonous family. Later on, his empty vessel was filled with the hateful bile of men like Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers.

Obama will not evolve; he will not rise to the occasion; he will not become the man he was meant to be. This is for one reason and one reason alone:

He is not capable of it.


http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/a_shrink_asks_whats_wrong_with.html

From the Desk of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton:
Supreme Court Spectacle: Kagan Evasive, White House Obstructs Press Investigation of Supreme Court Nominee

The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing with Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan concluded on Wednesday. Once again the nation was reminded just what a ridiculous farce these hearings have become. (Trust me on this, I attended the first day of the hearings and sat through each and every opening statement by Senate committee members and Ms. Kagan.)

Leaving aside for a moment the fact that one Senator actually asked the Supreme Court nominee to weigh in on the “werewolf vs. vampire” debate raging among teenage fans of the movie series Twilight, there were a number of serious reasons to be concerned about how this hearing proceeded: starting with Kagan herself.

Remember now, this is the same Elena Kagan who had previously criticized judicial nominees for being evasive in their responses to the committee. Yet there she was this week, ducking, dodging and running out the clock.

When one Senator asked whether she would characterize the Roberts court as "too activist," Kagan said, "I don't want to characterize the court because someday I hope to join it." When asked if she considered herself a liberal progressive, she pretended not to know what the term meant. At one point after a frustrating line of questioning, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter (a Democrat) lamented, “…you haven’t answered much.”

Those questions Kagan answered did nothing to counter conservative critics who believe she will be a “liberal progressive” on the High Court. We all know what the term means. So does the President who nominated her for that very reason. For example, Kagan refused to say the federal government has no right to tell the American people what to eat, a response that telegraphs that she will surely vote to turn back major constitutional challenges to Obama’s healthcare government takeover. Even reading the tea leaves of her cagey testimony, she surely is Obama’s leftist political plant for the High Court.

Other lowlights include her feeble defense of her decision to throw military recruiters off of the Harvard Law campus in violation of federal law and her ethically-questionable machinations to push for partial-birth abortion back when she was a political hack at the Clinton White House. (Our friends at Americans United for Life have done some excellent work on this issue.) She wouldn’t even tell Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) whether there are certain inalienable rights as referenced in our nation’s Declaration of Independence. An editorial in today’s Washington Examiner described the exchange:

Coburn pressed, asking Kagan if her response meant "you wouldn't embrace what the Declaration says, that we have certain God-given rights, and that among these are the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?" Kagan replied that "my job as a justice is to enforce the Constitution and the laws." She emphasized that she was "not saying that I do not believe there are not rights pre-existing the Constitution and laws."

While Kagan was busy stonewalling her way through her confirmation hearing, we uncovered new information showing the Obama White House was busy obstructing a press investigation into her life and career.

This week we obtained documents from Hunter College High School regarding a White House effort to deny New York Times education reporter Sharon Otterman access to Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s brother Irving, who currently teaches at the New York school.

Otterman requested and received permission from both the school and Irving Kagan to attend one of Mr. Kagan’s constitutional law classes before White House Deputy Press Secretary Joshua Earnest intervened. “I’m definitely not comfortable with that at this point,” Earnest wrote to Ms. Otterman on May 11, 2010.

Earnest instructed Irving Kagan in an email on May 11 to direct press inquiries directly to the White House:
This reporter says she has permission from you and from the school to sit in on your class. I’ve articulated my concerns to the [Hunter College public relations representative] Meredith [Halpern] — who now says she agrees with me. I’ve articulated my concerns to the reporter, who’s feeling misled that we’re telling her no and she says she was told yes.

In the future, it’s important to direct all reporter inquiries to the White House. It’ll be easier for you to stay out of the middle of these conversations if you send them directly to us without responding.

Irving Kagan appeared to have no issues with Ms. Otterman’s presence in his classroom. “I told my folks at school I was willing to participate, but only with your agreement. Was that a mistake? If I hadn’t [been] willing to do it, I would have just said no, and not wasted your time.”