Thursday, May 17, 2007
To(n)y Poodle
Dear Mr. Bush:
When the British press routinely refers to your buddy Tony Blair as "Bush's Poodle", it's probably not a compliment to call him a "dogged" ally.
When the British press routinely refers to your buddy Tony Blair as "Bush's Poodle", it's probably not a compliment to call him a "dogged" ally.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Projection
In todays NYTimes, we read the following about the Democrats' signing ceremony for the spending bill setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq:
Have you ever heard of the concept of pyschological projection? It's a "defense mechanism in which the individual attributes to other people impulses and traits that he himself has but cannot accept. It is especially likely to occur when the person lacks insight into his own impulses and traits." It's also a characteristic of narcissistic, paranoid, and antisocial personality disorders (not that I'm accusing you of having any of those). Or perhaps you don't think this:
was a "trumped-up political stunt" with "lights, characters, and action for some fine political theater?
Throughout the day, Democrats lined up to deliver floor speeches observing the fourth anniversary of the president’s speech on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. At the front of the House chamber, Democrats positioned a blown-up photograph of Mr. Bush standing on the carrier deck on May 1, 2003.Dear Ms. Perino and Ms. Westmoreland:
Aides to the president were openly angry about the reminders, and the Democrats’ unusual legislative signing ceremony.
“It’s a trumped-up political stunt,” Dana Perino, the deputy White House press secretary, told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One. Others grumbled privately that Congress had sent plenty of bills to Mr. Bush without such pomp and circumstance.
“We’ve got the lights, we’ve got the characters, we’ve got the action for some fine political theater in the House of Representatives today,” said Representative Lynn A. Westmoreland, Republican of Georgia. “It’s time for the majority to take off their costumes and exit stage left. We owe it to our nation and our troops to see the ending of this story.”
Have you ever heard of the concept of pyschological projection? It's a "defense mechanism in which the individual attributes to other people impulses and traits that he himself has but cannot accept. It is especially likely to occur when the person lacks insight into his own impulses and traits." It's also a characteristic of narcissistic, paranoid, and antisocial personality disorders (not that I'm accusing you of having any of those). Or perhaps you don't think this:
was a "trumped-up political stunt" with "lights, characters, and action for some fine political theater?
