The View from the Meadow

Observations of the Passing Scene

Political and Social Commentary by Dave Satre

Is the Nut Cracking?
President Showing Signs of Pressure
(Revisited)

GW Bush, the great decision maker, is losing his grip. The man is unstable and unable to handle criticism of any kind, but the whole world, including his insiders, seems to be turning against him as he faces the greatest crisis of his life.

Psychiatrists’ evaluations of Bush’s sanity are proliferating on the Web. Two diagnoses from Dr. Justin Frank and Dr. Paul L. Minot are interesting. They vary, but are remarkably similar in nature.

Minot sees Bush’s problem as a Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). The man has deep-seated insecurities, but compensates by creating an egotistic self-image and actually believes he is better than everybody else. He surrounds himself with people who flatter him, generally sycophants who are happy to be associated with him and the power he represents.

Bush is an admitted alcoholic and a confirmed drug addict. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is frequently associated with alcoholism. His claim to be a Christian is also characteristically narcissistic. He employs faith to reinforce his belief that God speaks to him and that any ideas he has are actually from God. He will insist that his sycophants embrace his ideas, no matter how solid the evidence may be against them.

Even Bush knows he isn't very intelligent. He typically combats this by discounting the value of intelligence and attacking the character and credibility of those he suspects are intellectually superior to him. He knows that his greatest personal strength is his likeable affability. It is very important to him to be liked and he uses this to great effect wherever he goes. He also treats everyone as a “buddy” (“Great job, Browny”), which makes him feel more secure, but is frequently inappropriate.

Among the most contemptible characteristics of narcissists is a pathological inability to empathize with others. Among Bush’s worst examples was his insensitivity to the plight of Katrina victims. He also isn't losing any sleep over dead American soldiers, to say nothing of dead Iraqis or the thousands of wounded veterans who are victims of his misguided war.

NPDs are also absolutely unable to say they're sorry and totally incapable of admitting mistakes. Narcissists are notorious for blaming everyone else for their errors. Without doubt, Bush is to blame for the situation in Iraq, but in his mind he will always blame others. If the "surge" is rejected, hopefully by the Democratic Congress, he hopes to place the blame for the defeat on them.

Bush’s only chance to avoid political disaster and an eternal reputation as the worst president in American history is to hope against hope for some sort of "victory" in Iraq. Or, at least, to not be in office when the situation in Iraq is ultimately declared a defeat for the U.S. The fact that he is willing to risk more American lives as a desperate attempt to save his own ego shows that he is also a sociopath.

Dr. Minot does not believe Bush is psychotic, but psychiatrist Justin Frank claims in his book, Bush On the Couch, that the president is a paranoid schizophrenic, is delusional and occasionally exhibits psychotic behavior.

Frank believes Bush’s problems are the results of his fundamentalist religious beliefs, a strained relationship with his father and problems with alcoholism and drug addiction.

Bush actually believes he is “chosen” and that God speaks to him. He believes that when he gets an idea he is always right, he is above the law and should be allowed to do whatever he wants. He actually claimed that God told him to invade Iraq, which seems highly questionable, since the Pope, who also speaks to God, has related a definitely different message.

Bush never had the intelligence, experience or background needed to handle the job of president. He was elected only because he has led a life of special privilege as a member of a wealthy and politically powerful family. His political career has been the result of Karl Rove’s expertise, which is basically an amoral policy of lying, saying whatever the people want to hear in order to get elected and vicious personal attacks against opponents and critics.

Bush likes to claim that he is a great decision maker. He seems fixated on making decisions. He hardly ever makes a comment to the press that doesn’t include the term “decision.” This is because he is actually a lousy decision maker and is totally reliant on his advisors, who have failed him miserably at almost every turn. His people do the research and tell him what to think. He lacks the intellectual background necessary for making rational decisions and the mere idea that this man is making decisions that involve the good of this country and its people is petrifying.

Faced with monumental criticism and popularity polls that are dropping through the hull of the sinking ship, Bush remains unable to admit a mistake or change a decision. He really has no new strategy for Iraq. He simply wants to keep the war going so he doesn’t have to face the humiliation of failure.

The man is simply staving off the inevitable -- he enjoyed his “Stay the Course” policy, it sounded tough and confident. But, most of all, he doesn’t want to leave Iraq without victory. It’s more about “him” than Iraq, its people, or America.

He definitely does not want to be remembered as a loser and the worst president in the annals of American history. He should have thought of that before he ran for the office. But, then, he didn’t know any better. He made a bad decision.

This man should not be making any decisions affecting the lives of Americans and Iraqis. He is embarrassingly inept and he should be impeached and removed from office while there’s still a chance for America to recover from this disastrous presidency.

Dave Satre
View from the Meadow
May 31st, 2007

Learn More About Bush:

Is Bush Insane? A Psychiatrist’s Perspective on Bush
By psychiatrist Paul Minot
Online: http://mostlywater.org/an_analysis_of_our_friend_in_d_c

Bush on the Couch
By Dr. Justin Frank
HarperCollins Publishers
http://www.amazon.com/Bush-Couch-Inside-Mind-President/dp/0060736704

George W. Bush: A dangerous, cornered, rabid animal
Capitol Hill Blue
By Doug Thompson
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/news2/2006/12/george_w_bush_a.html

The Assault on Reason
Al Gore
Penguin Press
http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-5646818-9952425?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+Assault+on+Reason&Go.x=13&Go.y=6&Go=Go

Where Have All The Leaders Gone?
American Empire Books
Lee Iacocca
http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-5646818-9952425?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Where+have+all+the+leaders+gone&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go