Well, the correct term is Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Let's look at this, now, before we put a patent sociopath a heartbeat away from the nuclear trigger...
According to the American Phychiatric Association (APA), two (2) or more of the following criteria have to be met to diagnose Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) - this is straight from the book:
- Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
- Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
- Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead;
- Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults;
- Reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
- Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
- Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
Do you see a trend, here? Let's take them one by one. And remember - the APD diagnosis requires the repeated demonstration of two of these:
- Unlawful behaviour: Her frequent bypassing of the legal email system of her office to conduct unlawful business without leaving traces on the official email server is just one drop in the sea of unlawful actions she seems to have committed.
- Repeatedly lying: Bridge to nowhere. Earmarks. I rest my case. A trait John McCain has recently espoused. I guess sociopathy can be transmitted by osmosis.
- Impulsivity, failure to plan ahead: See my previous diary on how her professional life has been characterized by a total lack of focus. Impulsivity is a trait even stronger in her running mate, John McCain.
- Aggressiveness: Sarah Barracuda: A nickname she seems to wear like a badge of honor. Pitbull with lipstick: this should be a smear; it is her own proud self-description. Not to mention the ton of enemies she made along her personal and professional path; she's neck deep into vendettas. Aggressiveness is definitely a trait she shares equally with John McCain.
- Reckless disregard for safety of self or others: I think the most eloquent example is her "official" story about how she endangered her own life and the life of her unborn baby to attend a political party in Texas (she REALLY wanted to make that speech) while leaking amniotic fluid and 8 months pregnant, and the bizarre series of events afterwards.
- Irresponsibility, failure to sustain consistent work behavior: well, changing college 5 times, changing jobs every couple of months, from sportscaster to fisheries to commissioner, to consultant, never staying in place long enough (except the part-time mayor stint, where the city was administered for her by an appointed administrator after she started firing too many people). Running for one of the most demanding jobs in the world with a large, dependent family with special needs. We can also think about the "Where's Sarah" buttons distributed in Juno because she would frequently be absent from her office - even during sessions. In fact, she spent a lot of time at home, charging a per diem on top of it. Which leads us to...
- Lack of remorse. When I watched the ABC Interviews, I saw a woman who regrets nothing, is perfectly content and has now repurposed every fiber of herself on her brand spanking new mission. Ask any poor soul who has had the unfortunate bad luck of disagreeing with her in the past how they feel. Do you genuinely think she has any remorse about the people whom she fired, depriving them of their means? Regrets about how she made the life of her sister's ex a living hell? Another hallmark of Mr Maverick-Pow.
***Side note for the trolls who would say any of her victims deserved her wrath: Even though the Japanese were the enemy in WW2, all the people involved in the Manhattan project lived multiple phases of remorse and guilt when we unleashed our Atomic wrath on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A great deal of many soldiers' PTSD has to do with inflicting harm upon enemies. Even when someone hurts you, guilt, remorse and shame are normal, healthy human feelings when you're inflicting harm (physical or psychological), whether it is deserved or not. This a genetic trait which has helped to keep human societies together and prevent us from falling into anarchy and chaos. I want someone who can feel guilt, remorse, self-doubt when the life of millions are at stake. Not someone "totally committed to the mission".
From the APD Wiki:
Deceit and manipulation are considered essential features of the disorder. Therefore, it is essential in making the diagnosis to collect material from sources other than the individual being diagnosed
Well, I think we would have a lot of people to interview! People who have actually worked with her, not pundits and trolls who had never heard her name 2 months ago.
Swell - all we need right now. Replace the current White House sociopaths with a new generation. That will certainly help us restore good relationships with the rest of the human race (you know, these other countries where they speak strange languages, eat funny stuff, and oh, by the way - we have more than 700 military bases in 130 of them, and enough nukes to kill each one of them 3 times over.
Flame away !