The President complained recently that Republicans talk about him as if he were a dog. This may be his strangest comment to date, and that is saying a lot: there is steep competition for Obama-Bizarro moments. After all, the President giggled while answering questions on 60 Minutes about the plummeting economy. And when discussing the monstrous murder of Daniel Pearl by Jihadists, Obama suggested that it might be, “. . . one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination, because it reminded us how valuable a free press is.”
Now the word on the (liberal) street is that Obama’s canine reference was somehow culturally based, and conservatives are being insensitive clods when they mock him for it. But surely this is not a “black thing”: Obama was raised by white people, and mostly in middle-class Hawaii, rather than an inner-city “hood.” And Obama attended Columbia University and Harvard, as we are continually reminded. Furthermore, when black people use the colloquialism “dawg,” it’s generally an affectionate expression, as in the greeting, “what’s up, Dawg?” I don’t think the President intended to suggest that conservatives were cozying up to him.
I have to admit that as a psychotherapist, I find Obama infinitely intriguing; he’s a challenge for me. I want to figure him out. I want to help my readers figure out what makes him tick. Yet it’s hard: the President is kept on a short leash by his handlers (pun intended). Yet when he ventures off the Teleprompter, we often get a sighting of the real man.
What can we learn from his recent doggie comment? What picture of Obama emerges from this latest howler?
1. I don’t mean to be snarky, but Obama really comes across as very odd. He didn’t suggest that Republicans treat him like a dog, but rather that they speak to him like one. Who talks like this?
Of course, even if Obama is a bit peculiar, that’s not necessarily cause for alarm. There are all kinds of odd ducks out there (sorry--I can’t get away from the animal talk). Many eccentric folk are harmless. We all know good, decent people who are a bit quirky.
But then there are those who are not only strange, but prone to act out their bizarre qualities. These are the ones to worry about. Which sort of case is the President?
The interesting thing about Obama is, he doesn’t “red flag” his faux pas. When he giggles with Steve Croft, he doesn’t become embarrassed and explain himself. It appears that Obama views his behavior as perfectly normal. It must be the rest of us who are freaky.
2. It’s been said before, but it bears repeating: this man is extremely thin-skinned. Not only that, he appears to feel that everything is about him. Rather than seeing conservatives as legitimately concerned about healthcare, the economy, border integrity, and national security, he suggests that they are simply being mean to him.
One hypothesis: Obama had so much trauma growing up that he became stuck developmentally somewhere along the line. The President may not have resolved the earliest stage of development—that is to say, basic trust. Obama’s world is a foreboding, unfriendly place, filled to the brim with people who want to diss him.
3. One last point emerges from Obama’s recent hyperbole. When his own inadequacies are exposed, he goes for the jugular—he often plays the “race card.” By asserting that Republicans (probably code for “white people”) talk to him like a dog, he is very likely meta-communicating to his base, “See? Conservatives view people of color as animals.”
So what does Obama’s recent gaffe say about the man? He emerges as so hypervigilent that he may border on paranoia. In this most recent case, Obama appears to be manifesting a Canine Persecution Complex.
Let me clarify here: there is such a thing as paranoid delusion, which is a form of psychosis—but then there is also a paranoid personality. With regard to the President, I’m referring to the latter. To quote the psychotherapist’s bible, the DSM IV, a person with a paranoid personality:
• “Suspects . . . that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her . . .”
• “Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about . . . loyalty or trustworthiness . . .”
• “Reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events . . . “
• “Persistently bears grudges . . .”
• “Is unforgiving . . .”
• “Perceives attacks on his or her character . . . and is quick to react angrily or counterattack.”
Are any bells going off?
Obama also presents as relentlessly self-focused: He seems obsessed with righting past wrongs—but only because he appears to take so many grievances so personally. While Bill Clinton felt everyone’s pain, Obama seems to feel no pain but his own.
Lastly, the man is a bit odd, for a multitude of reasons. His formative years were spent as a stranger in a strange land, Indonesia. He was also raised by a collection of weird people, a fact that invites the “nature versus nurture” controversy. Yet the President should not be held to an unreasonable standard: no one is perfect. It’s easy to misspeak when one lives in a relentless spotlight.
However, there are some minimal requirements for the job of Leader of the Free World. These include maturity, the ability to take criticism with aplomb, and, as Sarah Palin so memorably put it, “cajones.” Most importantly, our President should be firing “on all of his cylinders.” Is this true for Obama? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess.
