Dr Sam Vaknin, narcissism, Obama and the fate of the world economy

Who is Sam Vaknin? He hails from Israel and is a world authority on the study of narcissism. He has dedicated twelve years to the study of personality disorders in general and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) in particular. He has authored nine books on this topic including the Barnes & Noble best-seller "Malignant Self-Love: Narcissism Revisited" and has numerous awards under his belt. Although a prominent psychologist, he is adamant he is not a certified mental health professional.

He has studied Adolph Hitler, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong-il, David Koresh and Charles Manson. He has added Barack Obama to this list.

" I must confess I was impressed by Sen Barack Obama from the first time I saw him. At first I was excited to see a black candidate. He looked youthful, spoke well, appeared to be confident – a wholesome presidential package. I was put off soon not just because of his shallowness but also because there was an air of haughtiness in his demeanor that was unsettling. His posture and his body language were louder than his empty words. Obama’s speeches are unlike any political speech we have heard in American history. Never a politician in this land had such quasi “religious” impact on so many people. The fact that Obama is a total incognito with zero accomplishment makes this inexplicable infatuation alarming. Obama is not an ordinary man. He is not a genius. In fact he is quite ignorant on most important subjects. Barack Obama is a narcissist...
...All these men had a tremendous influence over their fanciers. They created a personality cult around themselves and with their blazing speeches elevated their admirers, filled their hearts with enthusiasm and instilled in their minds a new zest for life. They gave them hope. They promised them the moon, but alas, invariably they brought them to their doom. Charmed by the charisma of the pathological narcissist, people cheerfully do his bidding and delight to be at his service. He creates a cult of personality – focused on one thing alone and that is power..."

On Obama's autobiography...
" Obama’s election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations. The University of Chicago Law School provided him a lot longer than expected and at the end it evolved into, guess what? His own autobiography! Instead of writing a scholarly paper focusing on race relations, for which he had been paid, Obama could not resist writing about his most sublime self. He entitled the book Dreams from My Father. Not surprisingly, Adolph Hitler also wrote his own autobiography when he was still nobody. So did Stalin. For a pathological narcissist no subject is as important as his own self. Why would he waste his precious time and genius writing about insignificant things when he can write about such an august being as himself? Narcissists are often callous and even ruthless as the norm, they lack conscience. This is evident from Obama’s lack of interest in his own brother who lives on only one dollar per month. A man who lives in luxury, who takes a private jet to vacation in Hawaii, and who has raised nearly half a billion dollars for his campaign (something unprecedented in history) has no interest in the plight of his own brother. Why? Because, his brother cannot be used to increase his power. A narcissist cares for no one but himself. […] What can be more dangerous than having a man bereft of conscience, a serial liar, holding an office of great power?

Many politicians are narcissists. They pose the usual threats to others. […] They are simply self serving and selfish and are prone to passing ill-advised laws.
Obama evidences symptoms of pathological narcissism, which is different from the run-of-the-mill narcissism of a Richard Nixon or a Bill Clinton for example. History shows plenty of evidence that pathological narcissists can be dangerous. "

Is Dr Vaknin being alarmist? Let us look at a sample of recent events that lend to or detract from his prognosis. Obama flew to Copenhagen on Airforce One to pitch for Chicago as a serious 2016 Olympic venue contender (and subsequently failed); summonsed General McChrystal, the top US commander in charge of Afghanistan away from a London meeting to an update on the tarmac before leaving Copenhagen; was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize (from 205 nominees) a week later on 9 October which he accepted humbly.

A fragile world economy which is tentatively stepping back from the abyss must learn to build trust in the policies from the "man of the moment" who must surely be a strong contender for Time's Person of the Year. Continue to watch Obamanomics with signature healthcare reforms legislation currently being debated in Congress; cap & trade plus new VAT (value added tax) proposals are now on the table as revenue raising measures. These are potentially added costs for the US consumer...and Asia export trade risks. Meanwhile world financial markets continue to cheerlead "green- shoots" countenancing no U-turns.

http://samvak.tripod.com/cv.html
http://samvak.tripod.com/obama.html