Barack Hussein Obama – psychological portrait

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Barack Hussein Obama – psychological portrait
Published 21-01-2013, 15:11

Dmitry Babich

Dmitry Babich is a political analyst with the Voice of Russia radio station.

A great persuader, President Obama is often called a ‘political pop star.’ Many liken his success to that of John Kennedy who was named the ‘first Hollywood president.’ Nevertheless, this ability to persuade the public may play Old Harry with Barack Obama.

His supporters were so wild about him that they arrogated his compliance with their own views and aspirations to him. In this sense, their disappointment may prove to be so bitter that it may cause hatred toward what was recently their love object. In an interview with the Voice of Russia broadcast on Friday, prominent US psychologist Sasha Abramsky, author of a book about Obama’s psychology, gives his thoughts on the matter.

 

 

Many analysts agree that Obama is a politician to the core and that he tries to court all the population groups that are able to bring him votes during the elections. Thus far, this tactics have been a success which is, however, tarnished by two factors. On the one hand, pacifists reacted angrily to Obama's drone wars and overtures to business, and on the other – conservatives demonize Obama, ascribing him non-existant anti-business and anti-family ideas. Although he managed to win the elections thanks to centrists’ support, his electoral base shows signs of diminishing. Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs magazine, points to Obama’s specific traits that helped him prevail in previous elections but that currently damage his charisma.

"He spent very little time in Washington before he became president, Lukyanov says. Before that, he served as a so-called community organizer, trying to convince people to unite in order to resolve a particular problem, such as garbage disposal, for the greater public good. Obama accumulated this expertise and he was poised to unite people after he was elected president. The result proved to be precisely the opposite of what he planned to do evidently because big-time politics has somewhat other rules than those related to working as a community organizer in a county in Illinois, for example."

As is known, community organizers seldom become geniuses or inspirational prophets. As a rule, community organizers are people who are able to express common desires and common prejudice best of all. In this regard, it is worth noting Obama’s attitude towards Russia. He spent his childhood years outside the United States, and unlike Reagan and Bush, he was not inclined to demonize Russia. This is probably why Obama started the so-called ‘reset’ of Russian-US ties. However, he failed to counter the pressure of those Republicans who accused him of colluding with the Kremlin. He failed to respond in kind to these absurd allegations. Here, it is worth mentioning Obama’s mental flexibility and readiness to change his views on the spur of the moment. Seeking to avoid being accused of Russophilia, Obama ordered Russophobes to deal with Russia-related issues that were part of his foreign policy. Peter Lavelle, of the Russia Today TV channel, says that the Republicans did not even have to come to power in order to spoil ties with Russia.

 

 

Summarizing Obama’s psychological profile, it is safe to say that he personified a very important contradiction of our epoch. Obama is the impersonation of political correctness. He is a man with black skin, but with a white European mentality. A Christian, he changed several confessions and received education in Indonesia, known as a Muslim country. A defender of the poor, he avoids offending the rich and pays lip service to resolving the problem of inequality with the help of rights and courts. He showed neither intolerance nor fanaticism. In this vein, a question arises as to is there any ‘yes’ in addition to many a ‘no’? In other words, is it relevant to speak of Obama’s personality in view of his permanent drive to avoid being personal or insulting someone’s convictions?

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