Posted on 12/04/2012 7:05:21 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
Bill Clinton is famous for feeling others' pain. So he might be the last person one would suspect of having Asperger syndrome, which is characterized by a lack of demonstrated empathy. Yet that is precisely the thought that passed through the mind of Ron Fournier after meeting the former president with his son Tyler, who is diagnosed with the disorder.
Fournier told the surprising story on today's Morning Joe. A former Associated Press reporter, now with the National Journal, Fournier recounted how during the meeting, Clinton went off on a long monologue about Teddy Roosevelt, missing the clues that he had completely lost Tyler. Afterwards, said Fournier, he wrote in his notebook "is he an Aspie? Is B.C. an Aspie?"
View the video here.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
Surprising suggestion about Bill Clinton. Ping to Today show list.
Surprising suggestion about Bill Clinton. Ping to Today show list.
A completely bogus image built up by the press. Rush use to show clips of Bill Clinton cursing out his aides but the MSM never showed them. He never felt anyone else's pain, he just groped until it hurt.
Sometimes, a narcissistic a$$hole’s just a narcissistic a$$hole.
Bingo. Clinton is famous for being late to everything, giving long speeches, talking endlessly about himself. Also lying.
When Bill Clinton was reelected in 1996, it was clear that the decadent, demented and dependent were in the ascendancy. Obama was inevitable. The clown parade will continue for a very long time.
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so I cant read the whole article.
Aspergers...
incapable of empathy,
unable to pick up on the social queues given by others,
conversations almost always revolving around self rather than others
...
yep, Bill Clinton exhibits some of that behavior.
Narcissistic a$$hole syndrome, or NAS. It’s going around.
Aspergers...
incapable of empathy,
unable to pick up on the social queues given by others,
conversations almost always revolving around self rather than others
...
yep, Bill Clinton exhibits some of that behavior.
Noooo. Aspbergers folk do not as a rule, lie.
They see no reason to.
Narcissists are also :
incapable of empathy,
unable to pick up on the social queues given by others,
conversations almost always revolving around self rather than others
There is more to dx than picking up a few traits.
Hmm...
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And if we’re all on the spectrum, really what is the point of the spectrum?
Fournier does for the record state that he realizes Clinton isn’t an ‘Aspie’.
Unless narcissist is another name for someone with Aspergers I don’t think BC fits.
Hey, I didn’t say I was any expert, just doing some observing...
One observation on the social queues aspect of narcissism.
I’d say they were more “dismissive” of others’ social queues than they are unable to pick up on them.
Aspergers...
incapable of empathy,
unable to pick up on the social queues given by others,
conversations almost always revolving around self rather than others
...
yep, Bill Clinton exhibits some of that behavior.
****************
Clinton is very adept at picking up social queues, however. As you say, ‘some’ of those behaviors. An interesting theory though, and maybe the father is onto something. I hope he stays safe.
Agree. Not Asperger’s, just narcissistic personality disorder! Symptoms of this disorder include:
Reacting to criticism with anger, shame, or humiliation
Taking advantage of others to reach their own goals
Exaggerating their own importance, achievements, and talents
Imagining unrealistic fantasies of success, beauty, power, intelligence, or romance
Requiring constant attention and positive reinforcement from others
Becoming jealous easily
Lacking empathy and disregarding the feelings of others
Being obsessed with oneself
Pursuing mainly selfish goals
Trouble keeping healthy relationships
Becoming easily hurt and rejected
Setting goals that are unrealistic
Wanting “the best” of everything
Appearing unemotional
I think Bubba and Bambi are both sociopaths. Narcissism is only part of the problem.
A few hundred years ago, the diagnosis would have been settled: demonic possession. Perhaps some differences of opionion as to specific demon.
I’m inclined to call him a high-functioning jerk, a garden variety phony.
(Just had to get that in now, because it’s not cool to speak ill of the dead.)
DIRT-X-POTUS42 is a serial rapist.
Clinton, narcissistic yes, Asperber’s.... only if he needs an axcuse and then he’ll claim what ever gets him off the hook!
No way Slick Willie is Aspi.
When Aspergers became main stream, one old college friend from Iowa State joked “That describes most of the engineering and hard science people I know.”
I wasn’t going to mention it, but now that nearly every poster has repeated the error, I must point out that queue is a long line. The word that should be used here is cue.
I’d say they were more “dismissive” of others’ social queues than they are unable to pick up on them.
I would say that we would be looking at the same thing from different vantage points. Entrenched narcissists would be unable to pick up social cues because it doesnt fit their agenda. The actually do not see them, in my expericenc.
The child becomes the man. Politics is where the money is. Crooks don’t try to steal from trees. They go to where the money is. If you rob a grocery store, you’ve got money for the week. You can try to rob a bank, but that’s mighty risky. You can get sent to jail and you won’t get enough money to live the rest of your life on. But politics? Ahhhhhhhh.....politics. There’s the big money. The Clinton’s were writing-off their dirty underwear when they came to Washington. Now, they have lots of money. The leaders of the Democrat party are just thieves......grifters.....con men.....pickpockets.
Thanqueue for that!
LOLOLOL! I am married to an engineer, the daughter in law to an engineer and mother of 2 engineers. You may have hit on the reason that you seldom find engineers in elected office. They are often not good politicians, or people persons.
Isn’t that common among sociopaths?
A few hundred years ago, the diagnosis would have been settled: demonic possession. Perhaps some differences of opionion as to specific demon.
No.. that is the case with his wife!
Touche!
Add sociopath to the litany, because the man feels not one ounce of shame or remorse for anything he has ever done, does, or will do. He has no conscience, but he can play the part of a caring and loving person to get what he wants and be done with it. He can also be cruel to the point of sadism. (”Better put some ice on that.) He enjoys his power over people. He doesn’t care who he hurts and hillary is as bad or worse...and so is obama.
There is no Aspergers. It’s gone from the new DSM. The symptoms are now lumped under Autism Spectrum Disorder.
No, Clinton is just evil, not autistic.
Oh my, I’m granddaughter, daughter and mother of engineers, with grandchildren showing the traits. They might as well have been issued pocket protectors at birth. Such hyperfocus, such a narrow concept of logic, such cluelessness.... Lovable, though, if you have a sense of humor.
As do all narcissists.
Exactly. IMO, all federal-level politicians have some mixture of narcissism and sociopathy. In Clinton’s case, I’d suspect a higher level of sociopathy in the mix. Whatever the combined percentages are, he is 100% a$$hole.
*Symptoms of Sociopathy*
(I think Bubba is a sociopath)
Glibness and Superficial Charm
Manipulative and Conning
Grandiose Sense of Self
Pathological Lying
Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
Shallow Emotions
Incapacity for Love
Need for Stimulation
Callousness/Lack of Empathy
Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
Irresponsibility/Unreliability
Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility
Yes. Grandson just admitted to two different colleges to study petroleum engineering. In my family, the engineers battle with the musicians for precedence.
Funny thing. Thomas Sowell wrote a book about 15 years ago on “Late Talking Children”, inspired by his own son’s difficulties. (That boy is now grown and studied computer engineering.) Sowell did a loose study amongst his readers. The incidence of children with musicians, mathemeticians, and engineers in their families who show signs of autism spectrum, Aspbergers, etc. is astonishing. I have one autistic and one Aspberger’s grandchild among my 12. So far one pre-engineer and one musician at the college level.
Bill Clinton is a cunning predator at a serial killer level.
Clinton also has serious mental problems because of his cocaine use.
I, too, am married to an engineer, and I can see some of that. The husband has the heightened ability to focus and ignore everything but the task at hand. This is almost always great but, in some situations, I have found it irritating. Over the years, I have come to understand how deeply it is seated in who he is. He is a solid, decent man, extremely hard working, and an incredible problem solver.
His father was also an engineer but very much a charmer and very empathetic. My husband loves to chat people up the way his dad did, but it just does not come naturally to him the way it did to my FIL.
Yipes! Sorry for the highjack here.
I can understand how a computer’s CPU works, but I don’t think I’ll ever figure out how a woman’s mind works. [/hijack]
If he does, it’s the least of his “disabilities”.
Defined broadly enough as a “continuum” illness, all but one person in the world has it. We should all get SSDI, I suppose.
Since I work with engineers, for engineers, we were all INTJ (or similar). What shocked me is that type is one of the rarest.
Engineers do run in families. I thought I was the first, till I started researching my family. Turns out we are known for three things. Farming, Chemistry (I'm a Chemical Engineer), and Law.
So love your little engineers. They are one of the most rare types of people out there.
Thanks for the tip on Sowell’s book.
We have a four and a half year old grandson with spina bifida, diagnosed two years ago as high-functioning on the autism spectrum. His mind is highly compartmentalized—songs he sings with me cannot be sung by his Mom, and vice versa. He will not allow anything from the fun part of his life to be present in the hospital when he’s had to undergo various surgeries and treatments for severe illnesses. No welcome visitors or toys. He endures his medical misery stoically.
At home and school, he’s happy and active, though physically limited. He speaks in hushed tones with only the people closest to him. He shows
abundant comprehension, but little in the way of speech, except an occasional burst of echolalia, out of context recitations of last night’s
commercials, characterized by, “Up next...”.
Among his favorite things are music, and the close inspection of things
and processes. He spent yesterday afternoon figuring out how to get from
being seated on the floor to climbing into a chair by himself, using mainly upper body strength. He succeeded!
We don’t know what his future holds. He’s currently in the autism class of a developmental preschool. We don’t know if he has regular school or special ed. in his near future. Your reply widened my thinking as to his possibilities. He truly is a jigsaw puzzle. He’s dearly loved and we’re honored to be along for the ride, trying to make sense of whatever pieces present themselves on any day.
Someone with Asperger's would have real trouble most of the time picking up on those emotional cues others provide. Narcissists sometimes have problems understanding other people's emotions, but sometimes pick up on those cues quite well. People with Asperger's are closed-off emotionally and hard to get to, and narcissists have an emotional neediness and hunger for admiration and control.
I'd say Clinton was a narcissist. The admiration that politicians get probably makes the narcissistic orientation that's already there a lot worse.
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