— Nick Carmody JD, MS Psych (@Nick_Carmody) July 17, 2024All politicians “read” like egotistical (if not narcissistic) sociopaths. Isn’t that the basic thesis of Caro’s biography of LBJ? JFK presented a youthful veneer, but he fucked anyone with tits. The press just turned a gentlemanly blind eye to how he treated his marital status.
Nixon; Clinton; Carter was literally “too nice” for the office. What convinced Obama he was fit for the Presidency after a few years in the Senate (less than one term). What convinces Biden he must stay, and Pelosi that he must go? It’s something beyond a healthy self-regard.
We only dislike it when we don’t like the outcome. Mitch McConnell, or Paul Ryan. LBJ was probably not someone you’d want for your BFF; but look at what he accomplished. Or what Joe Biden has accomplished.
Trump is a different setting altogether. But then again, in hindsight, we all say we’d see Hitler coming a mile away. And after the war that devastated Europe, and the Holocaust, we wish we had. But Hitler was just another politician, and hindsight is always 20/20.
I think Trump should be seen as something altogether different. But you do that by focusing on Project 2025; and his insane pronouncements about sharks and windmills and Hannibal Lecter. Concrete items, not abstract psychological ones. That discussion may be interesting to a few; but for most people it’s arguing a distinction without a real difference. Except to reinforce the “all politicians are alike!” and “a plague on both their houses” attitude that usually drives voter indifference and low voter turnout.
If Trump is up in the polls right now, it’s because he’s been campaigning incessantly for two years, while Biden’s been governing. Yes, Biden shot himself in the foot when he called an early debate and then fudged the performance. But Trump rambled and blathered and lied, and got no bounce from Biden’s negatives. Nor did the shooting boost his numbers.
Let the campaign begin, and let Biden talk about what Trump will do and point out how much Trump lies (the latter too easily falls into “Don’t all politicians?”, so don’t consider it a silver bullet.). Above all, ignore the whinging office holders who want to know what Biden can do for them, and ask what you can do to re-elect Biden.
It’s what, in JFK’s memorable and stirring phrase, you can do for your country.
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