Barack Obama's Constant State of Cognitive Dissonance

American Thinker ^ | 1/25/2014 | Jeannie DeAngelis

[markomalley]

Contradicting the faultless, albeit far-fetched image he has of himself, Barack Obama is a man harassed by truth. That's why, judging from his inability to accept personal responsibility, Barack Obama must be living in a constant state of agitated cognitive dissonance.

The late Leon Festinger is the social psychologist who proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance. According to Festinger, until the person suffering with perceptual disharmony can find a way to justify wrong actions and decisions, it's impossible to achieve a calm mental state, especially when those wrong actions and decisions challenge the way the cognitively dissonant individual sees himself.

That's why placing the blame for his mistakes on others and attempting to avoid having to admit he's not the sterling specimen he perceives himself to be is the only way Barack Obama can resolve the disharmony of perceptions and truth raging within his head.

In an interview with David Remnick of The New Yorker, entitled: "The Obama Tapes," instead of owning up to being the radical, rigid ideologue that he is, Obama blames many factors other than himself for Washington DC's gridlock and his powerlessness to "penetrate the Republican base."

Besides standing against Obama's left-wing plans for America, Republicans disposed to work with him have complained that the president seems unwilling "to reach across the aisle" to form coalitions by way of social interaction. That's because he won, he's right, and quite frankly he's proven that he despises anyone who disagrees with him -- just ask federally-indicted Dinesh D'Souza. Therefore, rubbing elbows with anyone besides Beyoncé and Jay-Z probably isn't something Barack Obama feels inclined to do.

[informavoracious]

Or he is a sociopath.

[DeaconRed]

"Or he is a sociopath."

Or just a lying Scum Bag. . . .

[AlexW]

“Or he is a sociopath.”
_____________________________________________
Whatever he is, Obama is certainly a victim of “The Peter Principle”.

[freekitty]

Hillary seems to be the same way.

[SunkenCiv]

Contradicting the faultless, albeit far-fetched image he has of himself, Barack Obama is a man harassed by truth. That's why, judging from his inability to accept personal responsibility, Barack Obama must be living in a constant state of agitated cognitive dissonance.

What he actually lives in is a state of trying to redirect the conversation. Thanks markomalley.

[Foundahardheadedwoman]

I seem to be seeing more and more of these stories that try to explain in what way Obozo is nuts, not that his actions have some basis in reality, they only quibble over what kind of nuttiness he possesses. I guess the writers of these stories know he is chock full of nuts they only disagree about what species of nut he is.

Makes sense to me except for one thing, they never consider that he may not be nuts at all but just plain evil. I read somewhere that the most successful deception the devil ever devised was to convince man that he did not exist. Maybe that veil of deceit is being lifted and we are getting a glimpse at the true nature of evil.

Sorry, I have to get off now, it is time to take my meds.

[Donnafrflorida]

Exactly what i was thinking.. i met a full blown sociopath once.
he woke up everyday picking any enemy. every waking moment he played head games . every minute is a game of chess. your move. his move. He was my daughters boyfriend.

i also read they are born this way and there is no cure.
truly must be hell on earth.

website” love fraud “ has lots of testimonials.

[nathanbedford]

On November 17, 2009 I posted my own thumbnail profile and psychoanalysis of Barack Obama. More than four years later, I would not change a word of it:

I think he is a narcissist who survives and prospers not by addressing problems but by manipulating people. Narcissists like Bill Clinton or Barack Obama are not stupid, they are wonderfully clever and exceedingly effective in reading their victims and manipulating them.

I think that Barack Obama has a worldview provided to him, posthumously, by Saul Alinsky which gives him a framework for analysis. In other words, Obama does not "analyze", rather he "sorts" and puts data into their appropriate slots provided by the philosophy of Saul Alinsky. He has learned a vocabulary which enables him to contrive a front of effectiveness, a seriousness of purpose and depth of character which is all a sham.

Think of Barack Obama as the professional coordinator at an Alinsky meeting. For those old enough, think of Barack Obama as the leader of an EST meeting of the 1970s. These experiences give him an eschatology, a vocabulary, a forensic ability to manipulate, and ego satisfaction. What was he doing as editor of the Harvard Law Review if he was not producing actual work? He was acting out as a community organizer with the shtick modified to fit a new venue. If one examines his career at every level the pattern is the same. As a constitutional law lecturer he produced no written work but he was evidently perfectly fit to the culture of the law school. In the Illinois Senate he voted present but ingratiated himself with the Daley machine. He barely passed go in the United States Senate but he knew the vocabulary and he passed muster with the likes of George Soros. In each instance, Barack Obama behaves as a narcissist, very shallow, producing no work product, but selling a great package.

If one takes away the Marxist belief system provided to him or reinforced in every step of his development from his mother to Frank Marshall Davis, to Columbia University, the Harvard Law school, William Ayres, to Reverend Wright, one is left with a truly hollow man. That is why Obama is such a dangerous ideologue. There is no Obama apart from a lifelong sham, a compensation for always being advanced beyond his competence because of his race and his ability to manipulate. He simply cannot stop the act and get off stage because there is nothing but the act.

Obama is a man without a soul and without a spiritual compass. His relationship to Reverend Wright reveals that he has no real spiritual quality to him for there could hardly be a more rank apostasy than in the church which he attended for 20 years. It has nothing to do with spirituality and everything to do with ego satisfaction. It is the opposite of the Judeo-Christian message.

Obama cannot abandon his radicalism because there is no other there there. He is a massive compensation system. His body is a life-support system for his narcissism and the narcissism is utterly dependent on the received wisdom from Saul Alinsky and the rest of them.

[nathanbedford]

I take that back, I would change one word and that is "eschatology," I would change it to "epistemology."

I think I will start posting under the name of Mrs. Malaprop.

[bert]

Or, he is ill at ease. He is in over his head and knows it. He has been in that state for all of his life. He has developed and then honed skills to mentally justify his numerous shortcomings.

To live a lie, telling a lie is both convenient and natural mechanism for assuaging guilt and unease

Then there is the ....... well, better not go there.

[abclily]

You are exactly correct. He is evil. He is enjoying every evil he brings upon our nation - as he giggles all the way to the bank.

[T-Bird45]

Let’s go down Psychobabble Lane and explore this. The concept behind the Peter Principle is that the one in that position has no idea their reach has exceeded their grasp while the cognitive dissonance suggests a coping mechanism since Obama has to be aware of the manipulation that put him where he is. His ego says he was prepped throughout his life for this so denial kicks in and psychological projection becomes the order of the day. This allows for some sociopathic tendencies since that implies a lack of any moral compunctions for actions meant to preserve.

Neat, huh?? BTW, I don’t think there’s a “victim” of the Peter Principle, especially in Obama’s circumstances. JMO, YMMV, IANAP, etc.

[Salvey]

What was he doing as editor of the Harvard Law Review if he was not producing actual work?

My understanding is that he was "president" of the Law Review, not editor, and as such, was not required to contribute any pieces to the journal. In other words, another resume-enhancing sop thrown to an affirmative action baby.

[deoetdoctrinae]

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[T-Bird45]

We’re still sorely needing a “Like” button around here...dittos to your thumbnail profile and the word change in the following post. Check out my #13 in this thread for my analysis attempt.

[bert]

——We’re still sorely needing a “Like” button around here...——

There is one and pretty much always has been one

BTT

there you have it.....

[ripley]

Sounds like a prety good explanation of why communists in the last century systematically assasinated thousands of enemies, tortured and then murdered millions who were profiled as enemies, eradicated whole communities which resisted collectivization, destroyed millions of lives belonging to those who disagreed with a godless, obnoxious and hateful political ideology that can only be judged as vengeful and psychotic.

It also sounds like a good explanation of why so many Progressives are as hateful as they are.
(Look under “It’s George Bush’s fault”.)

IMHO

[nathanbedford]

I think you put it more concisely than I did.

[savedbygrace]

Whatever he is, Obama is certainly a victim of “The Peter Principle”.

You misspelled example.