Actually, understanding Joe Biden requires an understanding of psychopathic fluency. By understanding this it does not mean Senator Biden has a character or other mental health disorder. In the common parlance we often label these individuals as "fast talkers" and are on guard against their blandishments. This caution seems tossed to the side in political and religious matters where an underlying belief system is fiercely held by the audience but only tentatively, or not at all, by the psychopathically fluent.
Some people early in life express an unusual degree of fluency and ability to speak and convince others. Looked at carefully, it is apparent their speech and actions are predicated on the immediate or anticipated audience. That is they are unusually fluent because their views are not tethered by conscience or anything much except the immediate effect. Words are then levers that are designed to move an audience; the words have minimal to no real connections with underlying values or beliefs
This fluency also lacks a substantial value orientation although it is helpful for the psychopathically fluent to have a normal, intact family, religious faith, etc. Here lacking an internal tether, an inferior, external tether helps save the day from complete catastrophe.
The psychopathically fluent are outstanding successes in sales, professions (including the clergy) and politics since they are constantly focused on pleasing the immediate audience.
What some see as "gaffes" are really failures of the psychopathically fluent to connect their words to previous experience, reason or history. They then seem silly and mistaken in asserting unwarranted views.
They have always been a party of we talked about that issue so it is fixed,its solved.
Actions or doing something about an issue have never been required in dem/speak only the activity of speaking itself.
If talking is enough to convince an audience so be it. If not they will emplore the dbm to get the job done.
Either way words win for them, while we need actions.
Great post, shrinker!
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I love your contributions of medical lingo. Bill Clinton was a genius in this category, too. He even persuaded Newt Gingrich in some instances. In laymen’s terms I used to describe this phenomenon as being a mirrored empty shell, reflecting in words off of the shell back at whomever Clinton was facing.
OK, but I hope you'll agree it doesn't preclude him having a character or mental health disorder, too.
I've watched a lot of Sunday shows, and know Biden well. He is a dumb, mouthy jerk. Kind of like that guy Biff in Back to the Future. That's my assessment.