Thoughts of Obama from Bama

Week Twenty-Seven: Pathological Narcissism

"Stupid is what stupid does"

Forest Gump; Forest Gump

Last Wednesday during our 44th President’s 4th primetime press conference in 6 months, a new record, Mr. Obama pulled a page right out of VP Biden’s playbook making one of the most absurd, or dare we say stupid, remarks of his presidency. After an evening of misleading and dishonest rhetoric in another attempt to sell the virtues of his Socialized Medicine debacle to “We the People”, the President called on old friend Lynn Sweet from the Chicago Sun-Times for the final question.

Following is a summary of their exchange:

Sweet: “Thank you, Mr. President. Recently, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Black Harvard Scholar and Professor) was arrested at his home in Cambridge. What does that incident say to you? And what does it say about race relations in America?” (According to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs the President was briefed and had prepared a response addressing this issue. This White House hasn’t been shy about planting questions with the star struck press corps and the President was waiting with baited breath to jump all over this, at least in his elitist, Harvard Law, ACLU way of reckoning, travesty of justice).

President Obama: “Well, I -- I should say at the outset that Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here.” (A “little biased” might just be the understatement of the year)

The President continued: “Now, I don’t know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that, but I think it’s fair to say,” (If only he had stopped here when maybe not ahead but at least even the dreaded VP Biden “Foot in Mouth” malady might have been avoided).

The President followed up with: “number one, any of us would be pretty angry;” (Possibly, although a lot of folks would be grateful the Police showed up to stop a potential burglary in progress at their home greeting them with open arms instead of unfounded accusations of racial profiling and pathetic attempts of playing the victim card).

The President next proclaimed openly and without shame: “number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home;” (The President stepped knee deep in “number two” with this boneheaded remark. Having already acknowledged bias, no firsthand knowledge and a partial review of the facts it is extremely disconcerting when our Nation’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer impugns the entire Cambridge Police Department and the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley. A 20 year decorated veteran of the force Sgt. Crowley not only deserves but has earned the benefit of the doubt. The fact this was a deliberate, considered and prepared response to a planted question is even more disturbing).

President Obama concluded by saying: “and, number three, what I think we know, separate and apart from this incident, is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. And that’s just a fact.” (Agreed, but who gives a happy by damn as it has absolutely nothing to do with this particular case. The arresting officers who were responding to a 911 call weren’t aware of the ethnicity of the potential burglars. According to the officers on the scene, including one Black and Latino, Sgt. Crowley’s conduct was appropriate and Professor Gate’s arrest for Disorderly Conduct was warranted and necessitated because of his out of control belligerent and abusive behavior).

For some reason the President’s attitude and comments about this incident really hit a nerve in this country. His thinly veiled accusations of racism towards Sgt. Crowley, the Cambridge Police Department and our law enforcement community in general has been about as well received as the proverbial “Turd in the Punchbowl”. The folks, Talk Radio, and even some of the pinheaded leftwing media elite raised enough of a ruckus to compel the anointed one to respond to this unprecedented widespread criticism.

Making a rare Presidential appearance at the White House daily press briefing two days later Mr. Obama had this to say: “I want to make clear that in my choice of words I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically -- and I could have calibrated those words differently. And I told this to Sergeant Crowley.”

For a man who can’t seem to wait to bend over and grab his ankles and repeat thank you sir may I have another as apologies for America with the greatest of ease just roll off his tongue as soon as his feet hit foreign soil. You’d think an apology for false accusations of racism wouldn’t be problem. Unfortunately, the words or phrases I apologize; so sorry; please forgive me; I beg your forgiveness; pardon me; won’t happen again; Excuuuuse me for acting a fool; are all conspicuously missing from the President’s statement.

In fact, some of the words and phrasing are vintage Clintonian obfuscation. (“Depends on what the definition of is, is”) Take the phrase “I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning” in an effort to clarify his earlier statement “the Cambridge police acted stupidly” for example. There’s nothing unambiguous or in need of clarification about the phrase The President’s obvious intent was to leave the impression the officers acted in a dim; thick; dense; slow; dull; brainless; dim-witted; or stupid manner.

As for “I could have calibrated those words differently” does anyone besides an Ivy League Law School grad actually use the word “calibrated” when describing their method of choosing words? According to the dictionary “calibrated” refers to different forms of measurement. Word selection, editing or revising text or copy and I meant to say I’m sorry or I apologize for accusing you of being a racist didn’t make it in Webster’s latest edition.

The bigger issue, the real question here, why is the leader of the free world who’s busier than a one legged man at an arse kicking contest managing Wall Street; designing and test driving cars in Detroit; counting all of the First Pooch’s Bolshevik daily carbon emissions having lost a wager to Al Gore; spending trillions of tax payers money; Socializing Medicine; Masterminding Overseas Contingency Operations; and building a Federal Commune in every State in the union intentionally jumping feet first smack dab in the middle of this one day, 24 hour news cycle, local event?

Simply stated, bless his heart, he just can’t help himself. Our president, according to many psychologist and behavioral scientists, may be suffering from a rare but potentially extremely dangerous physiological condition, Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Those so inflicted, including our fearless leader, are physiologically compelled to impose their will as the final authority on any issue that strikes their fancy. Well beyond just being self confident, self centered, or an ego maniac, maladies affecting almost every politician, NPD, also known as Pathological Narcissism, is not just a character flaw but a mental health issue.

Young Barack Obama displayed symptoms of NPD early in his meteoric career. His election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract to write a book about race relations. In the end it evolved into his own autobiography. Instead of writing a scholarly paper focusing on race relations, for which he had been paid, Mr. Obama could not resist writing about his favorite subject, Barack Husain Obama. He titled the book Dreams from My Father. Not surprisingly, one of President Obama’s political heroes, Comrade Stalin, also wrote his own autobiography when he was still an obscure nobody.

Pathological Narcissists are also often callous and ruthless. Other consistent traits include the lack any personal remorse or conscience. This is evident from President Obama's lack of interest in his own brother who lives on only $1 dollar per month in Kenya. His willingness to throw his pastor and spiritual mentor of 20 years, the famous “Hate America First” and racist Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Governor Blago and his own grandmother under the political bus to advance his own selfish interest are further examples/symptoms of his NPD.

Mental Health experts suggest many influential historical and current world leaders and cult figures are inflicted with the Pathological Narcissism. Some of these enlightened thinkers and humanitarians include David Koresh, Jim Jones, Joseph Koni, Shoko Asahara, Stalin, Saddam, Mao, Kim Jong Ill and the current occupant of the Oval Office, Barack Husain Obama. Not exactly the company most folks want to be associated with but really not much worse than the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, Barney Frank, Barbara Boxer, Charlie Rangle, Chucky Schumer and Ted “The Lady Killer” Kennedy.

President Obama owes Sgt. Crowley, the Cambridge Police Department and the entire Law Enforcement community an apology. Suffering from Pathological Narcissism a personal apology for this latest presidential transgression, false accusations of acting stupidly, systemic and individual racism, is highly unlikely to ever roll of the tongue of our Narcissist-in-Chief.

If "Stupid is what stupid does" it’s probably reasonable to presume Pathological Narcissism is what Pathological Narcissism does. Let’s hope President Obama’s new Socialist Healthcare System finds a cure for this freedom and liberty threatening mental condition.

I am, “American by Birth and Southern by the Grace of God”

Ron W. Garikes