Utter worthless psychobabble ad hominems come at the president from every side. They are supposedly analysis of the president's personality, but are really just vultures looking to make up something convincing to discredit the president. They don't reflect any useful analysis or insight into the president's character nor even an honest attempt at understanding, but merely a cheap smear. Liberal commie dirtbags have been losing policy debates, elections, pretty much everything. So now all they've got is made up psychobabble nonsense.
The most classic form of cheap psychoanalysis for Dubya comes in the form of the absolutely most lowbrow Freudian Oedipal complex. Bush is cleaning up Dad's mess in Iraq, he's trying to prove that he can do what Dad didn't, a hundred variations. Whatever Dubya does, it will just prove that he's sick in the head.
Maureen Dowd may be the worst of this. Among her many cheap shots, her New York Times column from 10-20-2002, "The Souffle Doctrine" works with stuff like this, "The Boy Emperor picked up the morning paper and, stunned, dropped his Juicy Juice box with the little straw attached."
The new catch phrase for Bush's supposed mental illness is to accuse him of being a "dry drunk", as per this column by sociologist Katherine Van Wormer. That is, he's a raging alcoholic with an out of control personality who just isn't actually drinking. Goddam, that's a great tactic. He can be accused and convicted of being an out of control drunk without even claiming that he's drinking.
Take also for example this ignorant nonsense outlined here at Blogcritics. It amounts to saying that Bush being willing to use force to deal with thugs proves that he's just an alcoholic acting out. If he weren't emotionally disturbed or mentally ill or suffering with issues or whatever term the opposition arbitrarily wants to make up, then he'd be a good liberal appeaser.
Article comments
1 - NC
Indeed. Just one more step in the creeping IndyMedia-ization of Blogcritics. What a shame.
2 - Tom Johnson
I think my favorite part of all this is that the way the outspoken liberals here see it, Bush is either a complete idiot or a complete lunatic, but credit to him these enormous, complex, and impenetrable conspiracies that neither an idiot nor a lunatic would be capable of carrying off.
And I also agree, it is really sad to see Blogcritics becoming the place to hangout for the belligerents. And I know this will incite some comments about how they're the only ones here who really "understand" the "danger" represented by this administration. Unfortunately, it's these very people that always feel the need to raise their voices - all the time. I really wish there were more people like you, Al, who will stick their necks out against these people. If I were more politically inclined, I would too, but alas I simply am not.
3 - Doug Thorburn
The analyses of George Bush by by von Wormer, Justin Frank and others is clouded by their pseudo-liberal bias. As an addiction expert who has authored four books on alcoholism, I have written a top story on Bush and review of Frank's book for my online www.addictionreport.com. They're in the November issue. Readers here will find them most interesting.