The audacity of narcissism

Everybody’s talking about it and no wonder.  “It,” in this case, is today’s Charles Krauthammer article dissecting Obama’s staggering self-involvement and recognizably clinical narcissism.  The article is a tour de force insofar as it highlights the worst of Obama’s egotism.  I’ll help out just a little here by providing a list of the clinical signs of malignant narcissism, many of which you’ll recognize as you read Krauthammer’s article and as you think about the Obama we’ve come to know:

Malignant narcissism is a syndrome consisting of a cross breed of the narcissistic personality disorder, the antisocial personality disorder, as well as paranoid traits. The malignant narcissist differs from narcissistic personality disorder in that the malignant narcissist derives higher levels of psychological gratification from accomplishments over time (thus worsening the disorder). Because the malignant narcissist becomes more involved in this psychological gratification, they are apt to develop the antisocial, the paranoid, and the schizoid personality disorders. The term malignant is added to the term narcissist to indicate that individuals with this disorder tend to worsen in their impulse controls and desires over time. Malignant narcissism can be partially treated, with medications and therapy helping to reduce aggravating symptoms. Although narcissistic personality disorder is found in the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), malignant narcissism is not. Malignant narcissism should be considered a theoretical or ‘experimental’ diagnostic category. Malignant narcissism can be comorbid with other psychological disorders not mentioned above. Malignant narcissism is not an official diagnosis, but rather a syndrome. Individuals with malignant narcissism would be diagnosed under narcissistic personality disorder.

Here are the traits you should be looking for, many of which I’ll think you’ll recognize in the Left’s newest Messiah (along with my comments):

• Glibness/superficial charm [The liberals rave about his suave charm.]
• Grandiose sense of self-worth [The man thinks he makes the seas rise and fall, and has gotten rich writing books about his many wonders.]
• Pathological lying [On the subject of Obama’s compulsive, self-serving lies, see this and this.]
• Cunning/manipulative [Flip-flop, flip-flop, nuance massage.  We’ve seen it over and over again.]
• Lack of remorse or guilt [Being a self-annointed God means never having to say you’re sorry.]
• Shallow affect [This one is for those of us who feel, looking at him, that there’s no there, there.  Take him away from his teleprompter, and he retreats into a cipher, whose only emotion is outrage at attacks against himself.]
• Callous/lack of empathy [The trail of broken lives in his Chicago community hints at this.]
• Failure to accept responsibility for own actions [Obama’s lies are part of his never admitting that he was wrong.]
• Promiscuous sexual behavior  [I suspect that this exists too, but that the network around him is Kennedy-esque in its protectiveness on this point.  BTW, you saw this trait in full flower with Clinton, a mere narcissist to Obama’s heightened, malignant traits.]