Obama meltdown?
Commenter “physics guy” asks:
As has been predicted by others: when do we see the full-blown BHO in total meltdown?
I don’t pretend to have the inside track on this, so my answer is just a hunch, but this is it: never
I see Obama as very emotionally controlled. Yes, intermittent signs of trouble and stress leak out, especially in his ad lib remarks or attempts at humor. But a meltdown is not in the cards.
Narcissists such as Obama (and many other presidents and politicians, although he is one of the most extreme examples) tend to be very well-defended. After all, that’s one of the basic points of narcissism—to defend the ego against threats—and it is usually very successful in doing just that.
This is especially true when, as is the case with Obama, a person has attained heights of power undreamed of by ordinary men and women. That person’s narcissism has been rewarded and reinforced time and again. When there’s a rough patch in the road, it’s the fault of others. Blaming may increase, but not self-blame, which seems foreign to Obama’s nature.
Obama has the added advantage of the insulation of the presidency. He moves in a bubble of admirers and sycophants. In this he is not unique; it’s true of most presidents, unless they have the foresight (and the strength of character) to make sure there are critics and outsiders in their entourage. Obama has surrounded himself with an unusually insular group and is unlikely to hear much true criticism from them.
No, between his iron emotional control and his group of advisers, don’t expect any kind of meltdown from him. Interesting also that Obama plans to be away quite a bit after the November elections (see this and this), perhaps the better to distract himself with more important things than what has happened to his Congressional majority. And, if Victor Davis Hanson is correct, he will weather the post-election storm quite nicely.
Let him keep his cool while watching the country and it’s people’s lives disentigrate. The eerie resemblance to every other known jihadist robot on a mission won’t get missed.
I too can’t see him ever having a meltdown caused by self doubt. I defer to your superior education and training, Neo, for the reasons. It’s just a feeling I have.
However, I can see him having a meltdown from frustration, anger and the sheer injustice of it all. We are just not smart enough to get it, and we don’t appreciate him enough. He’s “this” close to achieving his goals of putting this country in its place, and we’re trying to stop him. I can see him losing it over that.
Yes he has a tremendous amount of self control. He’s had 20 years of practice grooming himself for this role. We’ll have to observe unguarded moments for true indicators of his state of mind (more like lack of) like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc8Wc1CN7sY
I’m not sure.
1. The meltdown may come after the Republicans take Congress, if they do. Then we’ll see Obama left to his own wits having to fight for everything on his own.
The sycophants will be gone. The liberal media knows he is toxic. There is no upside to standing by him, and he can’t manage on his own. He never has and he never will. I think.
2. As far as his re-election, even given everything VDH says, my question is, “What is the upside of anyone voting for Obama?”
The upside, if one can call it that, has already been had – electing a black person.
That’s what he was good for, and he’s outlived that usefulness to progressives.
Normal and decent people never used him like that, and therefore we see him as he truly is.
But he is a drag now. He may well be cut loose.
Michelle’s the more likely to blow. There already is something wrong with the marriage. She’s being paid highly for her beard role but after awhile even that gets a little old.
I did a recent video on an Obama meltdown but I’d have to agree with Neo and I’ve done many videos on Michelle that highlight her anger.
By “meltdown”, I meant exactly what LisaM posited: an unleashing of great anger at those of us who don’t follow his supreme example. I’ve seen it happen with a couple of such narcisstic people at my workplace, and it’s not a pretty sight.
I agree…never gonna happen (a metldown, that is).
But I don’t think he’ll ever become Clinton either. The guy is just not capable of moving to the center (his words notwithstanding).
Victor Davis Hanson is probably right on the money, as always:
“…the president can let the Republican Congress take the hit for the unpopular pruning of entitlements, even as he points to a more encouraging balance sheet. In a Zen sort of way, Obama will allow Republicans to restore financial sanity to his administration, even as he blasts them for cutting programs and hurting the needy….”
And of course, Obama will lie about his intentions, as needed. That’s his M.O. and always has been.
Found this in the file drawer, re Politicians:
“We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme. It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are more concerned with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent, nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today. Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby, ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive. We are sorry if this impression has come across.” — Monty Python
I fear VDH will be right, as he always is. But if Baraq is re-elected, what kind of Congress will he have?
I fear the Repubs will not be up to the task of explaining clearly, over and over again in 2011-2012, in one unified voice, why their acts are so necessary, even vital, for the Nation’s survival.
It may fall to the Tea Parties to be the vigorous chorus for sustaining responsibility.
I agree with neo’s comments above, as far as they go. Legislative setbacks and other genteel political contretemps won’t set Obama off. But what happens when he is confronted by unmistakable, visible, public vituperation?
Sycophants can’t help with that, and the internal defenses will have a hard time spinning such vituperation as anything other than rejection.
For example, what happens when the majority of a crowd he expects to be sympathetic (e.g., college students, union members, or even disaffected progressives) boos him lustily, or laughs derisively at something he says?
The internal defenses are going to have to be on red alert. It’ll be tough to spin that as the work of political foes, or to discount in any other way.
He’s never had that kind of criticism, and given his rejection issues, thin skin, and emotional brittleness, I wouldn’t rule out a drumhead investigation of the missing strawberries.
Did you consider that scenario in your analysis?
I agree that there will be no meltdown. Very controlled. But as far as reaching the pinnacle of power — I don’t think he likes it much, nor does Michelle. He has never really understood the office and its true responsibilities, and he just doesn’t seem to like it much. Though he does seem to enjoy the perks. It’s more like something he thinks he deserved, and a necessary step to change the world to suit his dreams. The Messiah role.
His current demeanor back on the campaign trail is bizarre. Angry, whiny, bewildered that he is not more appreciated for what he has accomplished. There’s an interesting contrast there between what he believes he is accomplishing and his tough Chicago-politics style political bribes and payoffs.
Has a U.S. president ever been so verbally contemptuous of individual Republicans and the Republican party while in office? But then maybe time has softened my recollections.
I disagree. King Barry will have a meltdown, and it will be from what OB describes: Laughter, ridicule, mockery and outright booing when he is in front of live, supposedly friendly, crowds. We’ve already had him complain of being talked about like a dog. How Obama forgets his bashing Bush like a rented mule. What goes around, comes around. He will lash out in anger, as he is currently doing, blaming us proles for being too stupid to understand his munificence. “You’d think they’d be thanking me.”
There’s an old phrase the Indonesian Imbecile never learned: Money talks, bullshit walks. His mouth is writing checks his presidency simply can’t cash.
It’s why I enjoy watching Palin baits him. She is the one person who seems to be able to get under his skin and it is truly delicious.
She’s got better political chops than he does and more charisma and it seems to really get his goat. She also doesn’t need a teleprompter.
There is some tiresome liberal protest going on outside my window at the moment. I won’t tell you what city I am in. These people are so annoying.
Some time ago, our friend Huxley opined in these pages that Obama would break down and fail to finish his first presidential term. I never thought this would happen.
First of all, Obama is a fully persuaded Leftist revolutionary. His possible mental pathologies, up to and including narcissism, will not incapacitate him. He entered the office believing himself to be on a mission, and the peoples’ opposition will only serve to persuade him further that he is correct. His self-congratulation is sufficiently strong that he sees opposition as vindication. That, plus the fact that he has surrounded himself with similarly persuaded surrogates, will keep him from “melting down.”
There are not many strengths to equal the strength of the fully persuaded fool.
I get down sometimes about the possibility of undoing all this. But still, we have no choice, do we.
Julia NYC: With that moniker, do you think you need to tell us what city you are in???? 🙂
rickl,
A temper tantrum is not a meltdown. He might have a temper tantrum, or multiple temper tantrums, and might even indulge a furious, jaw-dropping public display. But his hold on the presidency will never even be in question–say, under the 25th amendment, or some other such presently unclear provision. No one will willingly undertake to clean up the resulting mess.
He would have to be removed by a species of impeachment, and my bet is that no one would undertake such.
No, we are stuck with him. We will have to engage him where he is, not where we would like him to be.
Sorry, I meant RickZ, of course.
Occam’s Beard: I believe Obama has already met with something like the situation you describe, a couple of times already. Maybe not the majority of a crowd, but a sizable enough portion to be clearly heard. He seemed to handle it okay. Don’t remember the specifics or I’d include a link, but I remember reading recently about supposedly friendly crowds booing him about something or other.
Don’t forget that this is the first President to admit to experimenting with cocaine, so he does have the capability of self destruction. Consider that he has surounded himself with like-minded weak individuals. If some low-level aides are able to sneak some cocaine into the White House, I can see Obama getting into such a depression that he uses it. Should a real staffer see him glassy-eyed, this could be the start of a 25th amendment crisis. Just imagine him checking into the Betty Ford Clinic.
“You’d think they’d be thanking me.”
Funny you should say that. In drafting my comment I originally included an imagined Obama response of, “After all I’ve done for you…”
Neo, I wasn’t aware of Obama getting booed (apart from a few boos from admirals of the windward passage), so you may be right. I was thinking of a series of a public appearances marked by general lusty booing, laughter, or shouted heckling, from a more mainstream audience, so that it became pretty much expected. But, we’ll see…
Obama has two protections against a meltdown, they are: (1) a friendly MSM, and (2) his teleprompter. Post-election cracks may appear in his MSM armor. As for a teleprompter failure, well, uh, er, um, can’t count on that.
Interesting to compare Obama’s character with that of Cmdr Philip Queeg, in the novel The Caine Mutiny. Quite a few similarities; biggest obvious difference is that Queeg did not have his ascent greased for him in the way Obama has. Hence Obama’s fairly long track record of privilege gives him an aristocratic arrogance that may well prevent his breakdown while also preventing him from learning from experience.
Ridicule is the one thing that really chaps his hide. Have at him, I say. Reveal him for the jackass he is, the better to geld his power.
betsybounds,
In my mind, a temper tantrum is a meltdown. Unless checked, it can only go downhill from there. (Think of a 3-year-old trashing the house.)
Let’s also not forget his enemies list. Nixon had one, but it was a secret enemies list. Obama’s, on the other hand, is quite public: Fox, Limbaugh, Hannity, Boehner, insurance companies, rich bankers, along with future ones which dare to contradict the King. I see the fleeing rats from the sinking White House as a sign that a meltdown is coming. He’ll be increasingly isolated, and I do not think Valerie Jarret is enough on her own to relieve that sense of isolation (add in that public mockery I mentioned and the desperate isolation will only accelerate, because where can he then go for the praise and adulation his personality so richly requires?). Couple that with a gridlocked Congress, if Republicans win, then Obama faces his first major public disapproval, and that’s not a good thing for a narcissist who has never faced adversity. Add in the power of the Congressional subpoena, with all the juicy revelations they will provide, or at least entertaining jailings for perjury, and the whole Obama mystique goes down the drain. The only achievement Obama has had his entire life is winning campaigns, by means fair or mostly foul. Now that he actually has a (failed) record that is his own, as voting present from the Oval Office doesn’t cut it, he will have that record picked apart with him held accountable. That Porkulous Package that had to be passed IMMEDIATELY (11venty11!!!) or else we’ll have 8% unemployment is a failure, his failure. Calling the HealthCare penalties a fine, then going to court and calling them a tax is another on the record moment for Obama which will come back to haunt him in any debate. Of course, that precludes having a Republican candidate with balls who is willing to forego the fake collegiality normal in such events and eviscerate him in public, with the public watching him stammer and hem and haw and uh his way into a filibuster of a non-answer.
We have an unstable personality in the White House. Oh sure, it has been covered up and papered over so far. But that will not continue, not with unemployment reaching levels not seen by most living today, along with housing foreclosures highest since the Great Depression, along with the huge debt he’s created (no matter how much he blames anyone else). As more and more realize Obama has no clue, not just no answers, he will hunker down in a bunker mentality, ala Nixon (or party down like it’s Versailles in 1789). And we all know where that got the Nation — and Nixon. Or even Louis XVI.
> …unless they have the foresight (and the strength of character) to make sure there are critics and outsiders in their entourage.
In Roman times, when a commander led a victory procession through Rome, amidst the adulation and cheering crowds, he would have a servant on his chariot whisper into his ear: “Remember, man, that thou art mortal.”
Obama seems to need something a bit more forceful, like someone assigned to kick him in the ass every ten minutes or so, shouting “Asshole!”…
I doubt we’ll see a total breakdown, but it certainly will be interesting to see how he deals with the two things he’s avoided most of his life: ridicule and accountability. Nothing so far has indicated that he can deal well with either one. I expect to see more and more unscripted moments, such as the “treat me like a dog” comment. And try as they might, the media will be unable to hide or explain away his behavior. He will continue to limit access to unscripted moment, such as press conferences, in order to get through the next two years. As his inner circle leaves, it will be interesting if they start to talk or write books, and if so, how he reacts.
I doubt he runs for re-election.
One other thought here. Obama has never been betrayed before. His tight circle will be breaking with the departure of Rahm and Axelrod, and this pace will accelerate after the election debacle. The media portrait of Obama –brilliant, intellectual, post-partisan, post-racial — will take a beating as these aides and lesser aides publish books, grant interviews, etc. They will need to protect their own reputations by bringing down Obama’s. As a consequence, the facade will be gone, and all that will be left is the empty suit. This is when the troubles really begin, as the narcissist within will not be able to find the adulation that previously sustained him.
If nothing Caligula did was thought to be a meltdown, i guess anything he does wont be. besides america and other countries have a very very long history of hiding things from the public on this issue. FDR with his legs, King Georges III fits, etc…
Long time lurker, rare to comment.
Neo, you write of Obama’s “iron emotional control.” That is part of the mythology that surrounds Obama, however, almost from the beginning of his becoming President, he has shown an almost total lack of emotional control. Not only can he not take any criticism, no matter how mild, he is unable to mask that he can’t. He always hits back in some way – always! Sometimes in words, sometimes in gestures (remember the “finger” to his temple on a couple of occasions?).
I don’t know if we will see one big dramatic meltdown. However, I think we are already seeing him melt down around the edges and that will only continue to get worse. I honestly think, that is why his handlers are hustling him out of the country immediately after the election.
His tics and mannerisms show his irritation at criticism. But don’t expect a roaring Howard Dean style meltdown. He’s too schooled at masking his emotions and his media accomplices continues to cover for his mistakes.
It’s been clear ever since the election that one day we would witness 0 do the “full Nixon”. Never have so many seen such an important suit so empty, but deluded themselves into electing it anyway.
Check out Boehner’s speech today. Republicans are taking the gloves off and challenging Obama directly, with his own words.
I predict he will not be able to stand this. It’s never happened. He is used to smooth-talking an adoring crowd. He is used to publicly calling people out by name.
As with every bully there ever was, when he has ton take what he dishes out he will lose it.
Give it time. We’re still early.
centralcal: glad you stepped forward out of the lurking shadows.
When I say “iron emotional control,” I’m including that anger and those gestures of which you speak, which I see as very controlled and purposeful rather than flying-off-the-handle and out of control. It may be a fine point, but it is highly possible for a person to be vengeful and angry and yet be very controlled in the way he/she reacts.
The finger gestures, for example, are most definitely not out of control, but very subtle and hidden and arguably deniable. They are sort of like secret but not secret signals. And his always striking back at opponents is a purposeful tactic used in a purposeful, thought-out manner.
And even when Obama is trying to sound emotional he sounds cold and formulaic.
So it’s not the idea of Obama irritated or Obama on the offensive (in every sense of the word) that I think unlikely. It’s the idea of an out-of-control and sincerely, openly emotional meltdown that I think highly unlikely to occur.
LOL! I think the designated whisperer should murmur into his ear, “We know how you got here.”
IGotBupkis: It was also the function of the jester for kings.
Neo, what do you make of the “Can’t I just eat my waffle?”
RickZ: on Obama’s enemies list.
Hhhmmm – good points, Neo. I see your point – controlled emotions. I hadn’t thought of it quite that way.
Still, though, he does have very fragile emotions – controlled or not. It is the fragility that I think might be his eventual undoing.