Not a Pretty Picture

Published: Jul 13, 2004 9:08 PM

by Arianna Huffington

Reading the comments about Kerry's pick of Edwards last week, I was surprised by how many did not mention the most progressive part of Edward's agenda -- bridging the gap between the two Americas. As for those who are still questioning whether to vote for the ticket, I want to recommend a book I just finished, "Bush on the Couch," in which psychoanalyst and George Washington University professor Dr. Justin Frank uses the president's public pronouncements and behavior, along with biographical data, to craft a comprehensive psychological profile of Bush 43.

It's not a pretty picture.

Poking around in the presidential psyche, Frank uncovers a man suffering from megalomania, paranoia, a false sense of omnipotence, an inability to manage his emotions, a lifelong need to defy authority, and an unresolved love-hate relationship with his father.

Other than that, he's the picture of psychological health.

One of the more compelling sections of the book is Frank's dissection of what he calls Bush's "almost pathological aversion to owning up to his infractions" -- a mindset common to individuals Freud termed "the Exceptions," those that feel "entitled to live outside the limitations that apply to ordinary people".

Limitations such as having to report for required Air National Guard duty. Or having to adhere to international law.

And it doesn't help diminish this sense of entitlement when Daddy and his pals are always there to rescue you when you get in trouble -- whether it's keeping you out of Vietnam by bumping you to the top of the National Guard waiting list or bailing you out of lousy business deals with cushy seats on corporate boards or making sure those dangling chads in Florida aren't properly counted.

But you don't make it as far as W. has without some psychological chops of your own -- especially when it comes to defending yourself against your own fears and insecurities.

Raised in a family steeped in privilege and secrecy, and prone to the aversion to introspection and denial of responsibility, Bush has become a master of the psychological jiu-jitsu known as Freudian Projection.

For those of you who bailed on Psych 101, Freudian Projection is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a defense mechanism in which "the individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by falsely attributing to another his or her own unacceptable feelings, impulses, or thoughts."

In layman's terms, it's the soot-stained pot calling the kettle "black".

At the end of his analysis, Dr. Frank offers the following prescription: "Having seen the depth and range of President Bush's psychological flaws... our sole treatment option -- for his benefit and for ours -- is to remove President Bush from office."

You don't need to be a psychiatrist to heartily second that opinion.