President Obama, Narcissism, and Psychology

Obama Psychology 101

Glenn Beck’s audience gets a Psychology lesson on President Obama from a caller.

Narcissism, by Michelangelo

Narcissism

Beck: Obama has a few predictable patterns: blaming George W. Bush, overspending, and making it all about him. In a 25 minute speech President Obama used the word ‘I’ 113 times – that’s once every 13 seconds. After hearing this, Steven (a psychologist from Indiana) called into the radio program to give Glenn and his radio audience a little lesson in Obama Psychology 101.

This morning on radio played an audio reel put together by CNS News – a compilation that highlights how much emphasis President Obama puts on himself, his opinions, and his beliefs in his speeches.

“He only said it [I] 113 times in a 25 minute speech,” Pat pointed out. “That’s only once every 13 seconds.”

“That’s incredible,” Glenn responded.

Glenn went on to point out that this is a personality trait with Obama, and pointed out the danger that it can lead to if the American people aren’t careful. Glenn noted that the main reason communism usually outlasts fascism is because fascism typically centers on the personality of the dictator – that can only last a lifetime. Communism tends to be about having a dictator. A dictator is replicable, a personality isn’t. Communists can create the illusion that everything is about the people. Glenn noted several examples of how a cult of personality has built around the President and the patterns history shows us repeating.

“Remember when he first, when he was first running?” Glenn asked. “Everybody was like, ‘Okay, let’s not put the seal on the edge of the desk and make it into yours?’ That’s why, when he did become the president elect, he decided that, “I can just change the seal of the presidency and make it the seal of the president elect of the United States.” I’ve never even seen that before. It’s why his followers put his face on our flag – you didn’t see that with Ronald Reagan. Did you see Ronald Reagan’s face on the flag when he was running? No. Of course not, because it was about America. It was about the workers. It was about the people. It was about the ideas. A good leader will never make it about him. He’ll make it about the ideas. Why would the 9/12 project outlast any other of these grassroots? If it would outlast, it would outlast because of the values and the principles. Make it about the values and the principles. Not the personalities. Not about the election, not about let’s get this guy out, but the values and principles. The values and principles are the only thing that will ever last. That’s not what this man is creating.”

Glenn pointed back to audio he played earlier in the show of Obama senior campaign advisor Robert Gibbs spreading lies about Mitt Romney in an interview with Candy Crowley on CNN. This administration knows that their followers are not going to look up the facts, and that’s all that really matters to them.

After hearing this, Steven, a psychiatrist in Indiana, called into the show and told Glenn and his listener how well known this behavior is in the world of psychiatry – it would be too uncomfortable for Obama’s followers to find out their leader was lying to them.

“I agree with you that the truth is the heart of what we need to point out, but when the truth is not being told, what the people are telling from the Obama administration is, ‘You need to believe, believe, believe, believe. Believe me, I was just handed a can of worms that I couldn’t possibly turn the ship around in less than four years. I didn’t know how bad it was. Believe me.’ The word “believe” means there is no proof,” Steven pointed out. “He says the word “believe” more than any president I’ve ever hold, and I’m an old man, I think.”

“It’s disturbing how much he says ‘believe me’,” Glenn added, “and ‘trust me.’ I learned early on from my grandfather anybody who says ‘trust me, don’t trust them.’”

The caller also pointed out the other key factor about using terms like “trust” and “believe” is that they can’t be looked up.

“You cannot look up, “Is there a god.” I mean, if you use the truth and honesty and facts, I always say to people never let facts get in the way of a good argument but, you know, I mean, the fact is Jesus should never have been crucified. It was left up to the people. And the people at that time went with their gut. And that’s what’s happening with our country. We go more with the gut than we do the fact,” Steven said.

Next, Glenn put America on the psychiatrist’s couch. “We’re a patient. You know, the United States of America is a patient that walks into your office and says, ‘I believe in this guy. He’s not abusing me. He tells me he loves me.’ You as a shrink, how do you get them to see the truth and lead them there so they become a stronger person?” Glenn asked.

“It’s more personality, and that’s one thing that Romney has to get involved in is developing his personality that he becomes likeable,” Steven answered.

He [Steven] later added, “In going away from somebody who’s abusing you, you’ve got to first look at the fact that there is an alternative. Is there something else out there and why would it attract me. And so you’ve got to become attracted to the individual, the idea, and that’s what happened with Obama back in 2007 2008. Everybody got attracted to hope and change. Believe, you know. As you said, the use of the free election heel on his plane was a genius. It was almost like he was preordained to become our minister, our savior, our president. So he was a genius at psychology.”

Note: As Glenn pointed out, this is an example of personality cult. Some people, like Romney, don't have exciting or celebrity personalities, but they have better character. This is important to keep in mind. For a great study in character, read Being George Washington, by Glenn Beck. ~CD

President Obama, Reagan, and American History

Morning Bell: President Me

from The Foundry: Heritage Foundation Blog

Obama continues pattern of arrogant abuse of power

Rory Cooper

Over the past month we have witnessed several displays of arrogant power emanating from our White House, emphasizing fealty to a person over the integrity of an American institution.

Reflecting on his two terms in office, President George W. Bush said in 2010, “You realize you’re not it. You’re a part of something bigger than yourself.”

This is a sentiment President Barack Obama did not inherit from his predecessor. Over the past month we have witnessed several displays of arrogant power emanating from our White House, emphasizing fealty to a person over the integrity of an American institution. Some are more serious than others.

First, this week it was discovered that White House staff had edited the biographies of many past presidents on whitehouse.gov to include a bullet point or two inserting President Obama into each historical narrative.

For example, while President Calvin Coolidge had been the first president to make a public radio address, President Obama is on LinkedIn; and while Social Security was introduced by President Roosevelt, under President Obama it still exists. But in a far more egregious example, they incorrectly added to President Ronald Reagan’s biography:

“In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.”

This is not only a complete fabrication of what President Reagan said (even The Washington Post‘s ‘fact checker’ gave this familiar line two Pinocchios) but it is also a glaring example of the President putting himself ahead of the sacred institution he is sworn to protect for the nation as well as his predecessors and successors.

Heritage Distinguished Fellow Ed Meese who served as President Reagan’s Attorney General said: “They should not use the biographies of past presidents as campaign vehicles. What they have done is to spoil the integrity of the historical narrative. At the very least, the Reagan biography should be restored to the accurate version provided by the White House Historical Association. I’m sure those associated with other past presidents would feel the same.”

This is not the first time the Obama White House has engaged in this behavior. In March 2009, they were caught editing President Bush’s biography to soften his listed accomplishments. They quickly reversed course. In the Bush Administration, biographies were directly supplied by the White House Historical Association without addendums or qualifiers.

Former White House Internet Director David Almacy explained to The Heritage Foundation that under Bush, this editing practice would have been unthinkable, saying: “It was our intent to preserve the history of the White House as an institution as well as those who served as president from a non-partisan historical perspective.” Almacy added: “It was ingrained in Bush Administration staffers from day one that our time in service to our nation was a privilege and that we must separate political promotion from the institution as a whole.”

Affirming that culture, President Bush told a group of departing staffers in 2009: “Laura and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for serving with us. I’ve had two great chiefs of staff, Andy and Josh. Their task was to assemble, and I would say this objectively, the finest group of people to serve our country, all of whom are here not to serve me, not to serve Republicans, but to serve the United States of America.”

This bipartisan approach evades the current White House. On April 20, President Obama’s campaign team released a Nixonian enemies list of Republican donors on their “Truth Team” website. This wasn’t about transparency, but intimidation. After each donor name, the Obama team highlighted why they felt the person was “less than reputable.” Essentially the person had either succeeded in a business field that was counter to the President’s worldview (i.e. oil production) or they made business decisions like outsourcing.

Prominent donors are often thrust into the spotlight in political campaigns, but this example was extraordinary and unprecedented. The writing was on the wall: If you give to an opposing cause, we will unleash a grassroots effort to destroy your personal reputation. This message delivered on behalf of the most powerful man in the nation has real implications. If the IRS were to audit one of these individuals, how could they not wonder if their political contribution was the root cause?

Following up on the story, the Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberly Strassel found that a week after this list was released, a political opposition researcher was found to be digging through divorce records of one of the men named. The target, Frank VanderSloot, told Strassel: “When I first learned that President Obama’s campaign had singled me out on his ‘enemies list,’ I knew it was like taping a target on my back…[but] the public beatings and false accusations that followed are no deterrent. These tactics will not work in America.”

Between the biographical trickery and their enemies list, President Obama’s team has engaged in tactics that put their boss above his predecessors and dangerously above his opponents. This is indeed a culture that emanates from the top.

Just last week President Obama told ABC News’ Robin Roberts in an interview: “When I think about — those soldiers or airmen or marines or — sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf…” My behalf.

Then there was also the consistent use of the pronoun “I” to describe the raid to kill Osama bin Laden. And the time, President Obama told 60 Minutes that he was our fourth greatest president ever, saying: “I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president — with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln — just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history.”

Finally, President Obama insinuated yesterday that if you don’t support his policies, it’s not due to philosophical differences, but because of his name. Answering a question on The View about tight polls, he said: “When your name is Barack Obama, it’s always going to be tight. Barack Hussein Obama.”

Any person selected to the highest office in the land is bound to indulge a small degree of narcissism. But when it permeates the entire attitude and culture of the executive branch, it begins to become a problem. No president is larger than the presidency.