If his motivation was truly laying groundwork for a future political campaign–jeez that makes the original Manchurian Candidate look tame!

Looks like we are being asked to vote for another Clinton administration, without the charisma.

I leave it to my daughter to do long distance psychiatric autopsies (something she’s trained in).

I just look at Bill Clinton and my Narcissistic Personality Disorder alarm goes off. I look at his wife and the sociopath alarm goes off.

When I look at Kerry, my “traitor” alarm goes off, overwhelming any other analysis.

Narcissists are an elusive breed, hard to spot, harder to pinpoint, impossible to capture. Even an experienced mental health diagnostician with unmitigated access to the record and to the person examined would find it fiendishly difficult to determine with any degree of certainty whether someone suffers from an impairment, i.e., a mental health disorder ? or merely possesses narcissistic traits, a narcissistic personality structure (“character”), or a narcissistic “overlay” superimposed on another mental health problem.

Moreover, it is important to distinguish between the traits and behaviour patterns that are independent of the patient’s cultural-social context (i.e., which are inherent, or idiosyncratic) ? and reactive patterns, or conformity to cultural and social morals and norms. Reactions to severe life crises are often characterised by transient pathological narcissism, for instance (Ronningstam and Gunderson, 1996). But such reactions do not a narcissist make.

When a person lives in a society and culture that has often been described as narcissistic by scholars (e.g., Theodore Millon) and social thinkers (e.g., Christopher Lasch) ? how much of his behaviour can be attributed to his milieu ? and which of his traits are really his?

Additionally, there is a qualitative difference between having a narcissistic style, or a narcissistic personality ? and being diagnosed with the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The latter is rigorously defined in the DSM IV-TR and adheres to strict criteria and differential diagnoses (for more, see here).

Narcissism is regarded by many scholars to be an adaptative strategy (“healthy narcissism”). It is considered pathological in the clinical sense only when it becomes a rigid personality structure replete with a series of primitive defence mechanisms (such as splitting, projection, projective identification, or intellectualization) ? and when it leads to dysfunctions in one or more areas of life.

Pathological narcissism is the art of deception. The narcissist projects a False Self and manages all his social interactions through this concocted fictional construct. People often find themselves involved with a narcissist (emotionally, in business, or otherwise) before they have a chance to discover his true nature.

When the narcissist reveals his true colours, it is usually far too late. His victims are unable to separate from him. They are frustrated by this acquired helplessness and angry that they failed to see through the narcissist earlier on.

Based on my book “Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited”

? 2003 Lidija Rangelovska Narcissus Publications

Answer by paul contributed on October 03, 2003, at 4:19pm. Last updated on October 16, 2003, at 08:44am.

As I am an N-magnet, I have one tried and true technique for unmasking. If you suspect, go in for detail.

For example in an N-counter with a new femme fatale she mentioned she was a singer tho working a bar.

Many of my correspondents complain of the incredible deceptive powers of the narcissist. They find themselves involved with narcissists (emotionally, in business, or otherwise) before they have a chance to discover their true character. Shocked by the later revelation, they mourn their inability to separate from the narcissist and their gullibility.

Narcissists are an elusive breed, hard to spot, harder to pinpoint, impossible to capture. Even an experienced mental health diagnostician with unmitigated access to the record and to the person examined would find it fiendishly difficult to determine with any degree of certainty whether someone suffers from an impairment, i.e., a mental health disorder ? or merely possesses narcissistic traits, a narcissistic personality structure (“character”), or a narcissistic “overlay” superimposed on another mental health problem.

Moreover, it is important to distinguish between the traits and behaviour patterns that are independent of the patient’s cultural-social context (i.e., which are inherent, or idiosyncratic) ? and reactive patterns, or conformity to cultural and social morals and norms. Reactions to severe life crises are often characterised by transient pathological narcissism, for instance (Ronningstam and Gunderson, 1996). But such reactions do not a narcissist make.

When a person lives in a society and culture that has often been described as narcissistic by scholars (e.g., Theodore Millon) and social thinkers (e.g., Christopher Lasch) ? how much of his behaviour can be attributed to his milieu ? and which of his traits are really his?

Additionally, there is a qualitative difference between having a narcissistic style, or a narcissistic personality ? and being diagnosed with the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The latter is rigorously defined in the DSM IV-TR and adheres to strict criteria and differential diagnoses (for more, see here).

Narcissism is regarded by many scholars to be an adaptative strategy (“healthy narcissism”). It is considered pathological in the clinical sense only when it becomes a rigid personality structure replete with a series of primitive defence mechanisms (such as splitting, projection, projective identification, or intellectualization) ? and when it leads to dysfunctions in one or more areas of life.

Pathological narcissism is the art of deception. The narcissist projects a False Self and manages all his social interactions through this concocted fictional construct. People often find themselves involved with a narcissist (emotionally, in business, or otherwise) before they have a chance to discover his true nature.

When the narcissist reveals his true colours, it is usually far too late. His victims are unable to separate from him. They are frustrated by this acquired helplessness and angry that they failed to see through the narcissist earlier on.

Based on my book “Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited”

? 2003 Lidija Rangelovska Narcissus Publications

You may as well have something to chew on,how many traits can you spot?

Rick Ballard ó I ran out my reserve time in the New York and CA National Guard. I served under and alongside many, many officers, ex-regular and straight Guard, who had a better sense of mission and command obligation that John Forbes Kerry proves he has.

Well, he does appear to be introspective in a narcissistic way. Perhaps the NASA photo was meant to convey a sense of self-supositoryism. A deep search for inner meaning.

Pretty nuanced, tho. Doubt that many would understand his intent.