The Final Press Conference: Portriat of a Narcissistic Psychopath

Jesselyn Radack

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Tuesday January 13, 2009 · 5:37 AM PST

2009/01/13 · 05:37

Biggest mistake of his presidency, according to Bush:

the "Mission Accomplished" banner.

Biggest disappointments of Bush's presidency:

the revelation of torture at Abu Ghraib.

the failure to find WMD in Iraq.

President Bush is incapable of self-reflection, let alone guilt or regret -- a common trait of psychopaths, as is glib and superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, lack of remorse, shallow affect, callousness and lack of empathy, early behavioral problems, lack of realistic long-term goals, and failure to accept responsibility for one's actions. Bush identifies the failure to find WMD in Iraq as "a significant disappointment," but not his decision to invade Iraq in the first place? Seriously?

There is no actual diagnosis of psychopathy in the DSM-IV. I am not a therapist, but the armchair psychologist in me diagnoses Bush as a psychopath with antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial personalities lack regard for the moral and legal standards of society. Psychopaths up the ante. There is no one to blame for their behavior except themselves (though I certainly think Bush had a lot of enablers).

Bush is a "charismatic psychopath." These individuals are charming pathological liars. This type of psychopath is the fast-talker, the manipulator, the persuader, and ultimately, "the decider." Basically, they can talk people out of almost everything, including their own lives, or into almost anything, like commiting torture and fighting an unprovoked war. Religious cult leaders frequently fall in this category. The popular "drink the Kool-Aid" metaphors for Bush followers is no coincidence.

They are hard to identify. They don't usually come from broken homes and nothing unusual stands out about them. Their motivation is power, gratification, personal gain, and survival. Their mindset is manipulation, deception, and evil. Their level of malice is off the charts--if they are ever held accountable--which it doesn't look like Bush will be.

Criminal versatility is a hallmark. From torture, to warrantless wiretapping, to signing statements: who could think of such diverse and diabolical ways to evade the law? President Bush not only disregarded the rule of law, but took this disdain for rules to the extreme. He did it, enjoys what he did, and would do it again. Normally such people are housed at the Super-Max or a hospital for the criminally insane, not the White House.

CLARIFICATION: I've received some questions about my article in today's Washington Post on having Multiple Sclerosis (a.k.a. the 350 words it took me 18 years to write), which is available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/... I did not blog about it here because it is not political.

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