From the beginning, BushCo has branded their candidate as a "compassionate conservative," when in fact, Bush is neither conservative, by any traditional understanding of the term, nor is he compassionate.
Enough has perhaps been written about Bush's failures my traditional conservative metrics - see the
American Conservitive Magazine article which described him thus:
Bush has behaved like a caricature of what a right-wing president is supposed to be, and his continuation in office will discredit any sort of conservatism for generations.
Much has been made about the Rovian tendency to attack an opponent on their strongest points:
"In every case, the approach is the same: You have a surrogate group of allies, independent of the Bush campaign, raising questions not about the opponent's weakness but directly about the opponent's strength,'' Slater said.Perhaps less has been said about Bush and company's tendency to celebrate their own weaknesses as though they were strength.
But I don't know whether enough has been made about the "compassionate" claim, one that is even more thinly grounded.
If anything, Bush's personality seems to fit the diagnosis of narcissism, or as it's called these days,
narcissitic personality disorder.
From the wikipedia entry listed above:
Narcissistic personality disorder is often diagnosed (comorbid) with other mental health disorders, especially substance abuse and impulsive and reckless behaviors.
Further along, more detail is provided:
A narcissistic personality disorder as defined by the DSM (see DSM cautionary statement) is characterized by an all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration or adulation and lack of empathy, usually beginning by early adulthood and present in various contexts.
It is this lack of empathy, a lack of conscience and ability to relate to, and have sympathy for, the plight of others, that defines Bush. Because this is so clearly a severe shortcoming to have, particularly in a person who's occupying the Presidency, one has to compensate wildly, so Rove, known for attacking the strengths of his opponent, here uses an inverse strategy, which is celebrating the weakness of his client, as though not only did the weakness not exist, but that in fact, it exists in magnificent degree.
By stating something that is so far from reality, Rove is able to strike up a position that is completely upside down from reality, and which an opponent must fight a long way through to get to the truth on the other side. The result is that when one extreme in political discussion is set up in opposition to another extreme in political discussion, the people at large will often give up on divining the truth, instead figuring that all is "politics as usual." This, too, comports with Rove's typical tactics, as when people started attacking Cindy Sheehan as some sort of unAmerican, unpatriotic madwoman, which of course could not be farther from the truth. But by the time a large enough counterprotest balances against the the simple moral weight of Sheehan's protest, the American public tunes out, and the opportunity for dialogue is defeated, instead devolving, in the public mind, into a he said/she said kerfuffle.
Still not convinced of Bush's lack of empathy and compassion, which is to say, lack of access to his soul?
If the debacle of a response he's made to the travesty on the Gulf Coast hasn't been enough to convince you, consider the following traits of a narcissistic personality disorder, which he seems to demostrate in spades:
Feels grandiose and self-important (e.g., exaggerates accomplishments, talents, skills, contacts, and personality traits to the point of lying, demands to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements); Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, unequalled brilliance (the cerebral narcissist), bodily beauty or sexual performance (the somatic narcissist), or ideal, everlasting, all-conquering love or passion;
Firmly convinced that they are unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special or unique, or high-status people (or institutions);
Requires excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation — or,
failing that, wishes to be feared and to be notorious (narcissistic supply); Feels entitled. Demands automatic and full compliance with their unreasonable expectations for special and favorable priority treatment.
Is "interpersonally exploitative", i.e.,
uses others to achieve their own ends;
Devoid of empathy. Is unable or unwilling to identify with, acknowledge, or accept the feelings, needs, preferences, priorities, and choices of others;
Constantly
envious of others and seeks to hurt or destroy the objects of their frustration. Suffers from persecutory (paranoid) delusions stemming from a belief that others are envious of them and are
likely to act similarly;
Behaves
arrogantly and haughtily. Feels superior, omnipotent, omniscient, invincible, immune, "above the law", and omnipresent (
magical thinking). Rages when frustrated, contradicted, or
confronted by people they consider inferior to themselves and unworthy.
