JUST WHEN THE CLINTON-OBAMA DEBATE WAS GETTING DULL

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ONE OF THE things that rarely gets discussed in campaigns is the
psychological nature of the candidates. For example, America has paid
deeply for its two last presidents having had severe psychological
problems about which it was not consider polite to speak. 

Thus, this letter from a Wisconsin reader troubled us because it offers
a psychological explanation for something we had noticed about Barack
Obama, but couldn't explain  a sense of an unspoken distance between his
inner and outward passion, a vague disconnect between words and soul.

We still would trust Obama any day over Hillary Clinton. We are
intrigued albeit not yet convinced and would welcome comment,
particularly from those trained in the arts of the mind. In any case, it
is as important to have some insight into such matters with a
presidential candidate as they are when considering close relatives.
After all, over the next eight years the former may have just a great an
impact on your life.

|||| I'm bothered by a key assumption that you seem to make about Obama
- that he's generally honest.

He's good at selling himself as such - an honest, nice guy. That's his
brand identity. I suspect it's anything but true.

I need to say that I'm not a Hillary fan. Never have been. I kind of
liked Edwards. But I'm scared to death of Obama.

I believe he has narcissistic personality disorder. This term is bandied
about way too loosely. You see it being thrown at lots of politicians as
a smear. Mostly by people who have no real understanding of it.

My mother has it. That - and decades of dealing with my childhood
issues, etc - have given me a radar for it. It's a pretty rare condition
- perhaps 2% of the population. It's enriched in certain settings (e.g.
Hollywood, prisons - I used to volunteer in prisons, working with people
with drug addictions, where I encountered a fair number of people with
this diagnosis).

My best friend's mother also has NPD (similar life experiences drew us
together). My friend recognized it in Obama a long time ago, and brought
it to my attention. A therapist we know (who treats people with NPD)
independently recognized it.

The NPD is much of gives Obama his magnetism. People with NPD can be
amazingly charismatic. They're usually quite manipulative, but are
generally perceived as "nice guys" and "upstanding citizens". They have
a tendency (and desire) to "merge" with other people - partly out of a
feeling of internal emptiness - which can create a kind of euphoria - a
strange feeling of "union" - in the target of their attention. The
language of people with NPD is often vague - so you can project whatever
you want into it. The main drive is to gain admiration. A few of the
other core characteristics include a deficiency of empathy (this is
central, though it usually isn't obvious without protracted contact), a
need for new experiencessensations, and
impatiencerestlessnessimpulsiveness. The lack of a solid core (i.e. life
is mainly about the reflection in the mirror), combined with the
deficiency in empathy, can lead to big trouble, especially when the
person with NPD is in a position of powe r.

I've never met a person with NPD who is "generally honest". From what
I've read about Obama's political history, I'm skeptical at best about
his "honesty" (the Chicago Tribune article on his first election -
knocking Alice Palmer off the ballot, David Axelrod and the Blair Hull
divorce papers, Rezko, etc.).

I have no way of verifying the assertion I'm making. NPD is just
something I recognize and have a deep familiarity with. I could point
out a lot of characteristics but that doesn't constitute "proof". 

But I see many people around me drinking the Obama Kool Aid. And
troubling incidents are merely attributed to the independent actions of
Obama's backers, while Obama is largely absolved of responsibility. I
can think of a lot of problematic historical figures, where the initial
problematic events were merely attributed to the excesses of their
backers (rather than recognizing that the historical figure was driving
the events). The danger of such a figure seems highest at a time when
people feel disillusioned, and I think that's currently true. ||||

[Because the writer mentions his mother, we have not included his name]

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