As a practicing psychiatrist who writes on political subjects, I notice how psychiatric thinking and terminology has pervaded our culture. It's very useful in helping people who are genuinely mentally ill, but often obfuscates situations which are not properly in the domain of psychiatry.
"Diagnosing Dubya"- is the title of a widely circulated piece I wrote in October 2002 http://www.counterpunch.org/wolman1002.html . It was written when Bush was talking about invading Iraq WITHOUT consulting either Congress or the UN.
At the time, the piece helped to highlight how extreme Bush's position was, and to peel off the Teflon coat which he donned after 9-11 the previous year. Soon thereafter, sanity prevailed, and Bush consulted both bodies, getting a green light from Congress and ignoring the red light from the UN.
Now, 4 years later, people are still diagnosing Dubya. KAthryn Wurmser argues that he is a dry drunk and can't help himself. http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1230-21.htm A Formal Intervention with a Dry Drunk President by Katherine van Wormer
Others argue that he has ADD. Or he's psychotic, lost in a fantasy world, and should be removed from office on psychiatric grounds.
None of this addresses the systematic lying and hypocrisy which Bush shows. Nor does it explain why the power brokers in Washington continue to cooperate with him. If he were truly disabled mentally, they would have gotten rid of him long ago. But Bush has survived a devastating election, and gone on to escalate in Iraq, with the cooperation of the "opposition" party, even though the Democrats got a clear mandate from the electorate to get us out of there ASAP. Instead, the Dems have again increased the funding for the occupation, and seem likely to go along with the troop "surge" that Bush is pushing. More dead Americans and Iraqis, more hemorrhaging of the treasury, while Carlyle and Halliburton (Bush and Cheney) get richer.
All the evidence points to a diagnosis of sociopathic personality disorder, which is psychiatrese for EVIL. Bush is a master manipulator and liar, and has systematically accumulated so much power that the loss of his electoral base does not matter. He has entangled so many Democratic Congresspeople in his web of corruption that exposing him risks exposing them to criminal charges as well. We don't know what hooks Bush has into Congress, what sort of blackmail and bribery has gone on, but there is no other explanation for the reluctance of Pelosi et al to challenge him in any meaningful way, given the will of the people they are supposed to represent.
Using psychiatric terminology to describe a demagogue who is destroying the legal basis of government- the Constitution- and plundering the treasury is not only confusing, it diverts the focus of the public from Bush's criminal behavior, where it properly belongs. Instead, people play the intellectual game of diagnosis, which has no possible political application. There is no precedent in this country, that I know of, for removing a high official from office on the basis of mental illness. If the American Psychiatric Association (APA) were to petition Congress to consider impeachment on the basis that Bush is insane, this could conceivably lead somewhere, but the APA is tied into the pharmaceutical companies, which are among Bush's main supporters and beneficiaries, so this will not happen.
I suggest that people refrain from psychiatric diagnosis where Bush (and Cheney) are concerned, and concentrate on the moral issues of good and evil, right and wrong, accountability for criminal behavior, justice.
There is so much evidence pointing to high crimes and misdemeanors, perhaps treason, on the part of Bush and Cheney, that refusing to use the impeachment clause in the Constitution constitutes a high crime on the part of Congress. It was put there by the Founding Fathers for just the sort of situation we face. It's the only remedy we have, and the right one.
Impeachment is peaceful, legal and democratic.
In the name of the Prince of Peace,
Carol Wolman, MD Board Certified in Psychiatry Cochair- Impeach Bush-Cheney Member- The Longhouse Coalition
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people: impeach Bush and Cheney
Carol S. Wolman, MD is a psychiatrist in Northern California. A lifelong peace activist, she is helping to distribute a Peace Plan for the Holy Land- email her for a copy.
As the Green candidate for Congress in California District 1 in '08, she (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Political misuses of psychiatry is a very apt title, but it is unfortunate that impeachment is not a viable solution to the situation America faces. America is becoming a kind of banana republic where El Presidente is expected to rule as an elected dictator. If I were looking at some other country, the best alternatives to hope for would be a general strike forcing the government to resign or a relatively benign military coup d'etat. So how has America arrived at this inconceivable situation?
Perhaps it's delving too deep, but I think it's actually due to the free lunch mentality of 'free' advertiser-sponsored radio, later perpetuated into television and now threatening the Internet. The fundamental problem is that democracy is predicated upon the wisdom of the crowds, that the electorate is basically thoughtful and will do the right thing. However, advertising works in exactly the opposite way, with the most successful advertising most successfully exploiting stupidity and gullibility to maximize the sales of quite probably inferior goods. The successful sale of Dubya to so many voters shows who won the struggle.
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shanen (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 7 comments) on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 at 10:21:17 PM
Thank you, Carol, for returning the issue from amateur (and professional psychiatry) back to illegal & right & wrong.
Rob Kall has already offered a sound argument in support of hearings & investigations as lynch pins that will promote Republican pressure on our incumbent dynamic duo to resign.
I now offer another. Historically, when one party manages a sweep of Congress, several defections follow in each House. I am working hard on Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR). The two women Maine Senators are also vulnerable, especially Susan Collins. After about - say three - defections, threatened Republican incumbents are likely to bring extreme pressure for resignation(s) at the top. I will watch with eagerness the caucus tomorrow.
Going for impeachment will further traumatize the electorate while highly likely to result in severe punishment at the polls. After all, we can't remedy anything unless we're in office.
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Barbara Adams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Wednesday, Jan 3, 2007 at 12:36:03 PM
Dear Carol Wolman,
I am very much in sympathy with the views expressed in your article 'Political Misuse of Psychiatry- Part 1'. I certainly agree that President Bush is not insane in any sense that would render him no responsible for his crimes and this isalso the case with Prime Minister Blair.
However I wonder if some light cannot be thrown on the mind processes of such people by the use of psychoanalytic insights. It seems to me they employ many of the mental mechanisms which have been brought to light by the study of neurotic individuals and others who show psychopathological behaviour; such mechanisms as repression, splitting, projection and paranoia. If we can demonstrate that their behaviour is irrational from the point of view of psychopathology it will assist in undermining their position as, of course, does exposure of their lies, greeed, and lsut for power.
Regards,
Jim McCluskey.
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Jim McCluskey (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Thursday, Jan 4, 2007 at 3:02:52 PM
Reply: will demonstrating psychopathology undermine Bush?
When I wrote "diagnosing Dubya" in 2002, it was for that purpose, and succeeded to some degree. At this point, all the professionals agree that he has a sociopathic personality (see recent interview with Dr. Justin Frank on Buzzflash). This means he is a hardened criminal, and the only thing he responds to is outside coercion.
Such people aim for personal power over others, and Bush has amassed so much, with that help of the outgoing corrupt and craven Congress, that no one dares seriously to challenge him, no matter what label is put on him. The only label that might bring him down is that of antichrist- which he fits to a "t". This could really turn the evangelicals against him. It's starting to happen.
Peace, Carol Wolman
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Carol Wolman (230 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 113 comments [17 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Jan 5, 2007 at 7:38:25 AM
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