It didn't surprise me when Todd Purdum reported in Vanity Fair this tidbit:
More than once in my travels in Alaska, people brought up, without prompting, the question of Palin’s extravagant self-regard. Several told me, independently of one another, that they had consulted the definition of “narcissistic personality disorder” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—“a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy”—and thought it fit her perfectly. When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”
If you've had the misfortune of living with someone who has NPD, you likely didn't need this paragraph to immediately identify this disorder in Palin. It was all there to see, as plain as day. Her extreme attention to her appearance. Her history of using then discarding individuals who helped propel her political career. Her aggressive trashing of those who show her disloyalty. Her obvious underqualification - as demonstrated in televised interviews - for a job she firmly believed herself to be qualified for. Her constant need for media attention to dramatic effect.
Narcissists are very good deceivers. They will lie to you without a single wink. So I'm also not surprised that she was able to bamboozle John McCain, the conservative media pundits who pushed for her VP nod, and the GOP into believing that she was something special - the next great hope for the Republican Party.
George W. Bush is also a narcissist, and a well-preserved one at that. His parents did all they could to foster and support the tyrannical child that dwells in that man's soul. However, in 2000, he was able to deceive at least half the nation into believing that he had the temperament to be an effective president. Even as his list of failures grew, he continued to fool Americans - using the false mask of the Hero of the 2001 Terror Attacks - until New Orleans flooded and people could finally see his uncaring, criminally negligent false self.
And none of it would be possible without the work of Karl Rove whose "genius" only amounted to his own profound narcissism. Anyone can be effective at dirty politics if he or she is incapable of having empathy for others. The extent to which Rove capitalized on the Terror Attacks in order to score political points demonstrates that he has none.
I'm not certain, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised that today, as George W. Bush dictates his memoirs to his ghost writer (narcissists are exceptionally lazy), that he believes his presidency to be a success.
Democrats also have their host of narcissists, too, but I'm sure my even mentioning John Edwards would start a fire. I will leave that debate to my fellow Democrats, but I believe that he too has demonstrated these symptoms.
One of the problems with narcissism is that it is sociopathy light - narcissists tend to be highly functioning. You won't find them in hospitals or homeless on the street corner. Typically they're rather successful and are able to maintain that success throughout much of their lives, leaving a trail of victims behind them. Sociopathy is rare, of course, but our lack of attention to the prevalence of NPD in this nation has created a fertile bed for narcissists to attain positions of power in which they wreak havoc while fooling us into accepting their childish behaviors as "normal." Instead, we casually dismiss such behavior as a normal aspect of political culture. We need to be more vigilant about the behavior or our leaders. We do not need to live in a culture of narcissism.
Many psychological journals estimate that 1% of Americans have some manifestation of NPD. However, because narcissists are less apt to find themselves in the shrink's office, other psychologists have estimated the percentage to be as high as 10% of the population. But using the more conservative number, let's illustrate what this number means: Let's say you're in a room of 100 people. You've been assembled to solve a pressing problem, say, global warming. 1% means that at least one person in the room has NPD, and more likely than not, that person will step up to lead the group. Now, the remaining 99 members are subjects of the narcissist - a source of his or her narcissistic supply. The narcissistic leader will - by saying and doing the right things - immediately create adulation with the rest of the group. But, slowly, as time moves on, small events will occur. Some group members notice that the leader doesn't accept criticism well, sometimes cruelly banishing those who disagree with him or her. Others realize that the effectiveness of project planning and execution has fallen way to making sure that the leader's ideas are carried through, no matter how wrongheaded or haphazard the ideas seem, and any suggestion otherwise is summarily dismissed. While others continue to take a shine to the person (who the narcissist typically rewards with saccharine kindness), those in the group who have experienced the ugly side of the leader begin forming resentful opinions about him or her. Soon, the room is divided into a black and white menagerie of those who strongly like, and those who strongly hate, the leader. Eventually, those who strongly dislike the leader decide to leave the room and form their own group, leaving behind only those still enthralled by the leader. The narcissistic leader, seeing his or her source of supply dwindle, eventually abandons his or her position, leaving the group in disarray.
1% may not seem like a large number to many, but it takes only one person in the wrong position to completely destroy the effectiveness or productivity of any organization. Why do we allow politicians who demonstrate the above behaviors to continue in office? Marilyn Musgrave, the former Republican representative for Colorado's 4th CD, served three terms despite displays of her own narcissistic behavior. Every election cycle was a witness to some of the most despicable negative advertising seen in US House races across the country. In 2008, when she lost by 12 points to Rep. Betsy Markey, Musgrave's narcissism was unmistakable. Not only did she fail to contact Markey to congratulate her and concede the race, she failed to appear before her supporters on election night to thank them for volunteering their time, and has not to this day. A few weeks later, Musgrave complained to the Denver press about none other than... how excessive negative advertising sunk her campaign.
Narcissism is real. Narcissism means ineffective leadership and destroyed lives. Narcissism should no longer be acceptable to any American voter, and all of us should react if a person exhibits even a hint of the disorder. Bush is gone. Palin is gone. America, are we finally finished with narcissists?
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