Sunday, October 05, 2008

A leader who has never led

"Obama is a cipher, an easy repository for the hopes and dreams of liberals everywhere...But if Obama avoided being battle-tested in 2004 by the grace of God, it's his own timidity that has kept his name clean since. Given his national profile and formidable political talents, he could have been a potent spokesman for Democratic causes in the Senate. Instead, he has refused to expend his political or personal capital on a single controversial issue, preferring to offer anodyne pieces of legislation and sign on to the popular efforts of others...Indeed, Obama is that oddest of all creatures: a leader who's never led. There are no courageous, lonely crusades to his name, or supremely unlikely electoral battles beneath his belt. He won election running basically unopposed, and then refused to open himself to attack by making a controversial but correct issue his own." Link here via Ali Sina.

Sina concludes Obama is a narcissist with a weak sense of self. That I don't know, however, the following is a fairly accurate description of some of his followers who feel personally attacted if you don't like him or think he is bad for America. I would like to see McCain-Palin win, but I don't feel personally attacted if you don't agree.

"The narcissist’s anger and intolerance is projected on his servile followers who also become angry and intolerant of criticism of their leader. Remember the sick symbiosis between the narcissist and his codependents? The followers get their narcissistic supply by elevating the status of their leader. The greater he looks, the better they feel. They see their glory is his glory. Conversely, when the narcissist is criticized, his followers become offended. They take those criticisms personally and their instinct of self defense is triggered. They will become vigilantes and will silence their critics through intimidation, bullying, mocking, threats and violence (like calling those who disagree with Obama, racists)."

2 comments:

R. L. said...

OMG, I can't believe they print such drivel, and that Ezra Klein gets paid for it. I wonder if Ezra went to the library to peek at the DSM IV in order to make the "diagnosis". And how long it took him to find one, or if he already had it in mind.

The Repubs are getting desperate. Evidently they are feeling no need to discuss real issues and are now willing to offer a sideshow instead.

Norma said...

I think Klein is the "progressive," or marxist and Sina is the analyst. I don't know the party of either one. Yes, Republicans are definitely desperate. Dumping Michigan was a bad idea. But apparently not as much so as Obama, to judge from his recent attack ads.