A Shrink Asks: What's Wrong with Obama?

American Thinker ^ | June 11, 2010 | Robin of Berkeley

[neverdem]

So what is the matter with Obama? Conservatives have been asking this question for some time. I've written a number of articles trying to solve the mystery.  

Even some liberals are starting to wonder. James Carville railed about Obama's blasé attitude after the catastrophic oil spill. The New York Times' Maureen Dowd revamped Obama's "Yes We Can" motto into "Will We Ever?"

The liberal women of the TV show "The View" have expressed sympathy for Michelle Obama's living with a man so out of touch. Peggy Noonan, hardly a vehement Obama foe,  recently pronounced him disconnected. 

Obama's odd mannerisms intrigue a psychotherapist like me. He also presents a serious diagnostic challenge.  

For one, Obama's teleprompter and the men behind the Blackberry keep him well-scripted. We know so little about the facts of his life.

But it's more than just a lack of information. Obama himself is a strange bird. He doesn't fit easily into any diagnostic category.

Many people attribute Obama's oddness to his narcissism. True, Obama has a gargantuan ego, and he is notoriously thin-skinned.

Yet a personality disorder like narcissism does not explain Obama's strangeness: his giggling while being asked about the economy; his continuing a shout-out rather than announcing the Ft. Hood shootings; or his vacations, golfing, partying and fundraising during the calamitous oil spill.

Take also Obama's declaring on the "Today Show" that he wants to know whose ass to kick. Consummate narcissists would never stoop to this vulgar display of adolescent machismo.

Obama is flat when passion is needed; he's aggressive when savvy is required. What's most worrisome is that Obama doesn't even realize that his behavior is inappropriate.

So if it's not just simple narcissism, what is wrong with Obama? Since I've never evaluated him, I can't say for sure. But I can hazard some educated guesses.

If I saw a client as disconnected as him, the first thing I would wonder: Is something wrong with his brain? And I'd consider the following theoretical diagnostic possibilities. 

--Physical problems: There are a multitude of physiological conditions that can cause people to act strangely. For instance: head injuries, endocrine disturbances, epilepsy, and toxic chemical exposure.

It makes me wonder: Did Obama ever have a head injury? His stepfather in Indonesia was purportedly an alcoholic abuser. Was Obama subject to any physical abuse?

-- Drugs and alcohol: Damage to the brain from drugs and alcohol can also cause significant cognitive impairments. Obama once said that there were 57 states -- and didn't correct himself. Memory problems can be caused by both illicit and prescription drug use.

Obama admits to a history of drug use in his youth. Did his usage cause some damage? Does Obama still use? 

--Asperger's Syndrome: Also known as high-functioning autism, Asperger's causes deficits in social skills. A person with Asperger's can't read social cues. Consequently, he can be insensitive and hurtful without even knowing it. 

Could Obama have Asperger's? He might have some mild traits, but certainly not the full-blown disorder. In contrast to Obama, those with Asperger's get fixated on some behavior, like programming computers. Obama lacks this kind of passion and zeal.

--Mental Illness: Obama's family tree is replete with the unbalanced. His maternal great-grandmother committed suicide. His grandfather, Stanley Dunham, was particularly unhinged: He was expelled from high school for punching his principal; named his daughter Stanley because he wanted a boy; and exposed young Barry to not just drunken trash talk, but unrestricted visits with alleged pedophile Frank Marshall Davis (who might or might not be Obama's biological father). Barack Sr. was an abusive, alcoholic bigamist.

Since mental illness runs in the family, does Obama have any signs? Yes and no. No, he is not a schizophrenic babbling about Martians. But there are red flags for some other conditions.

While Obama doesn't appear to hallucinate, he seems to have delusions. His believing he has a Messiah-like special gift smacks of grandiose delusions. His externalizing all blame to conservatives, George W. Bush, or the "racist" bogeyman hints at persecutory delusions. 

Along with a delusional disorder, Obama may fit for a mild psychotic disorder called schizotypal disorder. It may explain some of Obama's oddness. 

People with schizotypal disorder hold bizarre beliefs, are suspicious and paranoid, and have inappropriate and constricted affect. They have few close friends and are socially awkward. A schizotypal is someone like your strange cousin Becky who is addicted to astrology, believes she is psychic, and is the oddball at social gatherings.

Schizotypal Disorder does ring some bells vis-à-vis Obama. One way the diagnosis doesn't fit, however, is that schizotypals are generally harmless, odd ducks. Not so with Obama.

--Trauma: My gut tells me that Obama was seriously traumatized in childhood. His mother disregarded his basic needs, dragged him all over the place, and ultimately abandoned him.

But I think there may be something even more insidious in his family background. While I can't prove it, the degree of Obama's disconnect reminds me of my sexually abused clients.

With serious sexual abuse, the brain chemistry may change. The child dissociates -- that is, disconnects from his being -- in order to cope. Many adult survivors still dissociate, from occasional trances to the most extreme cases of multiple personality disorder.

Apparently, young Barry was left in the care of Communist Frank Marshall Davis, who admitted to molesting a 13-year-old girl. As a teenager, Obama wrote a disturbing poem, "Pop," that evoked images of sexual abuse -- for instance, describing dual amber stains on both his and "Pop's" shorts.

Would trauma explain Obama's disconnect? In many ways, yes. A damaged and unattached child may develop a "false self." To compensate for the enormous deficits in identity and attachment, the child invents his own personality. For Obama, it may have been as a special, gifted person.

Let's return now to my original question: What is wrong with Obama? My guess is a great deal. The answer is complex and likely includes some combination of the above.

Along with the brain issues are personality disorders: narcissism, paranoia, passive-aggressiveness. There's even the possibility of the most destructive character defect of all, an antisocial personality. Untreated abuse can foster antisocial traits, especially among boys.

If my assessment is accurate, what does this mean? 

It means that liberals need to wake up and spit out the Kool-Aid...and that conservatives should put aside differences, band together, and elect as many Republicans as possible.

Because Obama will not change. He will not learn from his mistakes. He will not grow and mature from on-the-job experience. In fact, over time, Obama will likely become a more ferocious version of who he is today. 

Why? Because this is a damaged person. Obama's fate was sealed years ago growing up in his strange and poisonous family. Later on, his empty vessel was filled with the hateful bile of men like Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers. 

Obama will not evolve; he will not rise to the occasion; he will not become the man he was meant to be. This is for one reason and one reason alone:

He is not capable of it.

A frequent AT contributor, Robin is a psychotherapist in Berkeley and a recovering liberal. You can e-mail Robin at robinofberkeley@hotmail.com. She regrets that she may not be able to acknowledge your e-mail.

[Psalm 144]

The danger is that if something happens to him it will make him a martyr. And, it won’t be “right wingers” that did the dirty deed.

*********************

That is why I see it working out that way. They will get the last ounce of use out of him. He was an expensive project. Ironic that he enjoys kobe beef so much.

[Tammy8]

I know there are people on both sides of the political parties that say- oh President X will not leave office- will try to become a dictator. I have never been one of those people. I will say before the election when some conservatives didn’t want to vote R to teach the party a lesson so they would give us better candidate next time— the though did cross my mind that maybe there would not be another Presidential election- I had already pegged him as not quite right. I still wonder at times.

[semantic]

Boy, talk about missing the forest for the trees. Who cares about Hussein? Does he really require some type of analysis? I'll tell you what requires some deep analysis: America itself, and how we got to this point.

The primary issues are two-fold:

(a) the powers who groomed Hussein, carefully controlled the media/message, vacuumed his records & (ghost) wrote his books/teleprompter scripts, and sold this Kenyan bill of goods to the American people; and

(b) an American electorate so thoroughly corrupted by generations of false messages that they would readily, eagerly choose such a person as president.

Here's a simple thought experiment: we replace Hussein and everything is fine, right? WRONG! He still has 25-40% strong support. These people get to vote, they want to legalize illegals, they want to increase taxes (which we pay), and they want to increase benefits (which they receive).

If you don't see the problem is a whole hell of a lot worse than one Barry Soetoro, then heaven help you.

[SparkyBass]

Drain Bamage!

[investigateworld]

Good thinking, now follow the old logic “Who Benefits”.

(I'd say it in Latin, but FR Speeling Police wuould Nail me for sure)

[Hoffer Rand]

So was I. I wonder about that, too. Especially with his relationship with Michelle. They can look very normal to those who don’t know them well, until they get under stress, and then all the cracks start to show.

[altura]

Our only hope is that he cracks completely under pressure to the point where the leftist media cannot ignore it or bail him out.

[gogeo]

For one, Obama's teleprompter and the men behind the Blackberry keep him well-scripted...

Blackberry=portable teleprompter.

[gogeo]

Barack was presented as the perfect non-RepublicanNixon after the economy conveniently blew up in Dubya’sFord's face (shh, be vewwy qwiet, don’t say anything about the Democrat Congress over there), and the mass media glossed over all questions. The people have come too much to believe the mass media, not simply looking at it for possible questions...

It's Jimmy Carter's second term.

[gogeo]

“Diagnosing” someone at a distance is professional abuse.

Yes. It calls her professional competence into question.

Obama is a criminal fraud, communist, covert Muslim, and grossly incompetent executive.

Yes, with all the skill at deceit that implies. It's not complicated; he's an arrested adolescent (as all leftists) who hates America and found handlers who also hate America. He's so far out of his depth it's indescribable. At any time, one has to ask if he's being obtuse or destructive; it could be either.

Bill Ayers is a practiced, polished, unrepentant terrorist, as is that b!tch he hangs with. These guys never die...they send a useful idiot to do so. I think Obama is the first political suicide bomber...equipped by the radical left.

Apart from those problems, he’s a splendid fellow, doing his best like the rest of us...

...and may they enjoy their time in h3ll, where they're certain to go.

[Purdue Pete]

Ping...verrry interesting.

[gogeo]

...you are certainly no more competent to pronounce him sane or "splendid," from that same distance...

Are you an adult? That was dry humor.

[gogeo]

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."

Oh yeah.

[metmom]

Everything.

That wasn’t too hard, now was it?

[houeto]

Ping!

[Chickensoup]

then perhaps they will have him quit. If the puppetmeisters have a grand falling out amongst themselves and Barack is left rudderless, heaven help us.

His manipulators wont have him quit. They will kill him, and kill him in such a way as to start a race war of unprecedented nature. Think Hitus and Tutsis.

[mj81]

I found this article to be fascinating.

I am convinced that whatever the diagnosis, Obama is above all else anti-American. He disdains America, American “Tradition”, and America’s goodness and greatness. He snubs “America” at every opportunity; whenever events compel him to speak well of this country, it is done with noticeable disdain.

He, his handlers, and the Democrat-media complex are working to remake this country. Into what? Whatever it is, it won’t be America as we once knew her.

That is, unless more like Robin of Berkeley wake up and help end the madness.

[Lando Lincoln]

This is a powerful indictment on the psyche of the President of the United States. The author is careful to point out that this “diagnosis” is based on observation and experience, not clinical examination. But, I believe its basic premise without question. Something is wrong with this guy. And its gonna get worse.

[The Comedian]

Thanks for the ping dude!

Yes, one could make an entire professional psychiatric career out of the Psychotic-in-Chief.

Assuming, of course, that he's actually *human*, an assertion of which I remain unconvinced.

Then again, there's always the possibility that this plethora of unsavory traits belong to a host of unsavory dis-corporate entities all residing simultaneously within Dear Reader. That would explain the multiplicity of Social Security numbers apparently used by Legion Soetoro...

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[hennie pennie]

>>>> ""Diagnosing" someone at a distance is professional abuse. Obama is a criminal fraud, communist, covert Muslim, and grossly incompetent executive. Apart from those problems, he's a splendid fellow, doing his best like the rest of us." <<<< Like you, I question the competence of any "professional" who would offer such a diagnosis on their blog.

Besideswhich, I don't believe that the Obamas EVER were seriously campaigning for the presidency, I believe they were trying to substantially increase Barry's book sales.

I agree with investigateworld that he is being entirely orchestrated by someone or some others else.

Since HE is not in control of his words or his presentation to the world, anyone who tries to psychoanalyze him will end up analyzing some hot air balloon of someone else's creation.