Is grandiosity an appealing characteristic in a president?
Posted at 5:00 AM on January 27, 2012
by Eric Ringham
(39 Comments)
Filed under: Politics/Government, Science/Technology
After he promised to establish a moon base by the end of his second term as president, Newt Gingrich responded to earlier suggestions that he was grandiose. He said that "Americans are instinctively grandiose because we believe in a bigger future." Today's Question: Is grandiosity an appealing characteristic in a president?
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/26/145882817/-president-gingrich-promises-permanent-moon-base
Comments (39)
Grandiosity may be a symptom of mania, but more generally it is a feature of what is called paranoid disorders, which actually a misnomer due to historical reaons in psychiatry. Paranoid disoders (or different forms of psychosis) are characterized by delusions and grandiosity is one of their objective features, as are excessive self-importance and self-righteousness. These features seem to fit many of the people who capture the attention of the media.
Is grandiosity a good characteristic in a president? No. Just look at Gingrich for the answer.
I say no to the voter ID amendment. The fewer barriers between the voter and the vote, the better. This is a solution looking for a problem we don't have. This would hinder the abiility to vote for too many people.
Furthermore, I'm adamantly against legislation by constitutional amendment. The people we elect to govern us need to work out ideas for laws among themselves, not pass the buck to us, thereby locking future generations into presernt social positions. Get your idea for a law through the legislature and into the governor's hands for signature or forget it.
I'm beginning to wonder if he suffers from bipolar disorder, what used to be called manic-depression. Grandiosity on that scale isn't quite sane.
Newt Gingrich, the walking incarnation of political corruption, lecturing us about the need for probity in public affairs. At a minimum, it's been fine quarter for "Newt Inc"
I would love to see the look on the face's of Gingrich supporters when they end up voting for Mr. Romney......
"Not bad enough to rave incoherently about the Illuminati while running down the street naked waving a machete, but his grandiosity is far, far beyond what a normal man would even think about, much less say in public.
Posted by Richard | January 28, 2012 10:19 AM"
Richard
crazy indeed, like imagining men deliberately flying planes into the side of a building or a Cathedral allowing an extreme skating event-death defying almost-at what would be the foot of the Church's altar, much like a human sacrifice...
no illuminati indeed.
The more I listen to Mr Gingrich, the more it seems he's genuinely not quite sane. Not bad enough to rave incoherently about the Illuminati while running down the street naked waving a machete, but his grandiosity is far, far beyond what a normal man would even think about, much less say in public.
Only if the idea is original and inspiring. Thinking of Steve Jobs type grandiosity. Moon bases are just weird.
Yes,
All cultures are in their golden age when they are exploring and expanding in all areas, geography, sciences, arts, cultures.
Else we become a sports game that has all of its players crowded around their own goal and at best celebrate a 0:0 tie game season.
.
Since so many of us are out of work and don't have health insurance, I want a practical, sensible leader for the country. The fact that I am an older person might contribute to the fact that I am not impressed by dreams of outer space. I can't retire for quite a few years and I need a job.
Some here are in agreement that grandiosity is a symptom of a narcissistic personality disorder. Let me remind you of another narcissist,
"I went ... I know ... My ... My ... I took office ... I'm president ... I will work ... I intend ... I will oppose ... I want to speak ... I took office ... I refused ... told me ... My message ... Send me ... I'll sign ... I set ... I signed ... I will go ... I will not stand ... It's not fair ... I'm announcing ... I promise you ... I also hear ... I want ... Join me ... My administration ... I want to cut ... I call on ... I spoke ... let me put ... I believe ... my administration ... I took office ... I will sign ... I'm directing ... my administration ... I'm requiring ... I will not walk away ... I will not walk away ... I will not cede ... I will ... I'm directing ... I'm proud ... Send me ... I will sign ... I'm sending ... I've approved ... my presidency ... I've ordered ... I guess ... I'm confident ... I will not back down ... I will not back down ... I will not go back ... I will not go back ... I'm asking ... fair play ... So do I ... I told ... I'm prepared ... fair share ... my fair share ... I get tax breaks I don't need ... I recognize ... I bet ... I've talked ... Send me a bill ... I will sign ... I ask the Senate ... I've asked ... I'm a Democrat ... I believe ... my education reform ... I will keep taking ... I can do ... I have no doubt ... I will take ... I'm president ... I intend ... I have proposed ... I have already ... I'm proposing ... brings me ... my proudest ... I sat ... I look at ... I'm reminded."
From the most recent SOTU speech. There's no WE in president.
Yes, if you still believe in the myth of American exceptionalism.
Well - as Lincoln statted .. "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. " ......... I say, we like grandiosity when it can still wear the moniker "vision" and seems both attainable and serves a purpose. I think Gingrich is not grandiose ... but pompous, and we do not, as a nation, tolerate pompousity - whether bridled or not. Without question, Speaker Gingrich is unbridled.
Had Obama made a claim to put moon bases in his 8-year plan .. Newt would have been the first in line with a megaphone and a brich-switch to excoriate the president for squandering the budget on ludicrous foie-gras-in-heavens projects ( well above pie in the sky) .
Now that I think of it... Speaker Gingrich would best be described as the single most Unbridled, Pompous, Self-Agrandizing poser in American politics today.
Grandiosity is a symptom of mania. Manics can be highly productive and entertaining, but they often end up getting into a lot of trouble as well.
Is this question is meant to ask (without asking) if Newt has a pathological condition? Yes. Yes.
"Apparently enough people liked his vision to give him 8 years to get it done."
Remember James there was a lot of doubt as to whether shrub (shrub, I love it!) won his first term's election or not. But unlike the whiny republicans who keep bring up this birther nonsense the grown ups in the room can let it go.
In response to Steve 8:29
I agree. Shrub shared his vision while campaigning, then pursued it. If you liked his vision, you voted for him. If you didn't like his vision, you didn't. Apparently enough people liked his vision to give him 8 years to get it done. Although (my opinion) his vision was flawed, at least he was honest.
Here we go again, Joanie "I'm a troll" Jet is back and more ridiculous then usual.
Why do you birthers keep up the loosing battle? By your logic John McCain is just as ineligible to be president as Barack Obama. You know he was born in Panama don't you? It would seem he's less eligible then Obama. Get over it...
The only job I can think of where "grandiosity" is appealing is, perhaps, carnival barker. Come to think of it....most of the current crop of Republican wannabees should maybe consider this line of work.
http://www.wnd.com/2012/01/georgia-court-told-obama-slam-dunk-disqualified/
" Grandiosity eventually does not last for ever when the facts come out."
Grandiosity in a candidate is dangerous and more so, when their supporters share that trait for it leads to eventual disclosure of one's disturbance. Best example is found here in Georgia. Georgia citizens today delivered sworn testimony to a court that Barack Obama is disqualified from having his name on the 2012 presidential ballot in the state, because his father never was a U.S. citizen, which prevents him from qualifying as a “natural-born citizen” as the U.S. Constitution requires for a president. Grandiosity of the man and his backers led to this fiasco.
Grandiosity must be a very appealing personality trait in a president. It was valued back in 2008 election or how else would someone with no job experience make it to the White House?. Newt is similar but is under a different party name.
But when grandiosity in a leader is also a part of one's narcissisim, then everyone around him also becomes
a threat to our liberties. Is grandiosity evidently not valued when one spends millions of tax dollars to vacation around the world on Air Force 1 while millions of kids go hungry every night in America? Or when their grandiose actions grow the national debt from $8 trillion in 2008 to a staggering current $15.9 trillion that now equals our GDP, grandiosity can only hide the ineptitude for so long. Delusions of grandeur is a symptom found in the psychiatric bi-polar (manic type) disorder. Grandiosity can help sell others on the idea when a critical look at the facts is avoided. So yes, grandiosity works well for choosing a candidate when we are denied the needed facts in the issue and one's background beliefs; e.g. who said in 2008, "The sweetest sound to me is the Morning Call to Prayer song." ? Who's grandiose idea said, "we will spend your tax money to the tune of $32 billion for government picking green energy loans and then loses most of it and thousands lose their job? Grandiose ideas? yes. Does it make a good president? Ask the 46% unemployed younger workers in some states.
Newt Gingrich = grandiose? Says who? I mean this is a guy who thinks my children should be cleaning their schools because they don't have a "work ethic." My kids think he's an idiot (at least the two who are old enough to understand) because they started their Saturday morning paper route at age 7 and 10, so that they could enjoy the things kids like his are just given... nice clothes, ipods, bikes.
What ever happened to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics? I am looking for the magnanimous man. The man who does not bother himself with trivial gossip, but who exorts him self in the most honorable matters concerning the state and generosity. The magnanimous man who through examination and thoughtful analysis is capable of determining the mean between two extremes. Of course, I also believe that the teen mom, the laid off upper management baby boomer, and the adulturous politician should all get a second chance and support from the state to ensure success.
That is what I'm looking for... gradiose?... sheesh.
Not if it's done for grandiosity's sake.
When Kennedy stated that we should go to the moon by the end of the 60's his vision was given credence by the clear threat of Soviet space domination. Setting lofty goals is an American tradition, but Gingrich's statement sounded more like a self-promoting soundbite. It was a clear appeasement to the space industry in Florida, timed for the upcoming primary vote.
I'll admit that maybe because of my age this is why my opinion is such- I am so sick of grandiosity. All of my 27 years I've been hearing big ideas from politicians and most of them never come to be. These politicians (from both sides of the aisle) can have all the big ideas and buzz words they want- but if they can't tell me how they're going to fix the college tuition/student loan crisis, fix the K-12 education system (where we overtest and expect every single kid to go to college), figure out what the hell to do with Social Security and make sure that I can make my own decisions on what I do with my own body- I don't waste my time on them. That being said, I haven't yet given up on the political system, I still vote and enjoy being active in the political process- just pretty jaded.
Would rather have someone who, with a little bit of "grandiosity", is tempered with a grasp of reality. When one thinks of the ego that a person has to have be believe that they - and only they - have the ability to be President of the United States, it can be scary. This person may do or say anything to realize that dream.
Let's have someone who can try and fix the problems they have helped create in the past and build a realistic future. Then we can plan for a pie in the sky - or in this case a colony on the moon.
America seems instinctively to yearn and look for a leader who can dream big, who reminds us of what we have achieved and how much there is left to achieve, someone who can inspire us to reach beyond ourselves, go further.
That said, we are currently in a cultural space (and have been since 9/11, in my opinion) where by choice or circumstance we have pulled our dreams in such that they, and the world we live in, seems to occupy a space not much larger than our own backyards. This, despite an increasingly interconnected and global world.
Americans don't seem to want a leader that talks about what's next but rather right now, someone who promises to fix the short-term in lieu of long-term vision. One recognizes the comfort in the same, but it's a risky and dangerous proposition for us all. We need someone who has his or her feet planted firmly in the ground, but whose wingspan reaches for tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, too.
Whether you call it grandiosity or vision, it's overrated. Papa Bush lost to Clinton, in part because he didn't get "the vision thing." Shrub had "vision" in spades, and look where it got us. I wish there were a wonky technocrat I could vote for.
When I think of an example of grandiosity in a president, Nixon comes to mind. I remember the palace, White House, guards in their fine white uniforms with their feathered Prussian helmets. They were guarding the most narcissistic, foul mouthed, manipulator in American Presidential history. It's problematic that we could very well have a repeat of this squalid period in our future
I think you are confusing grandiosity with overt narcissism.
Romney is a smarmy j-off who would be the boss no one trusts, you never let your guard down around, and everyone always looks out for his ulterior motives.
Gingrich is just a creepy little adulterous troll. Everything he does seems to be because he's trying to make up for being picked-on on the playground. He was one kid who's parents shouldn't have said "You can be anything when you grow up, even president"
Then there's Santorum. Mr. holier-then-thou. He's so used to thinking in fairy tails, like a certain representative of the 6th district, that he lives in a bubble of his own making. He's completely out of touch with reality, and looks down his nose at the rest of us like we're all wrong.
Really republicans, this is the best you can do? I guess there's still Paul. Still trying to figure that guy out. He's almost a combination of all the above.
Is grandiosity an appealing characteristic in *anyone*?
I agree with James 7:23--"visionary" is much better, and much more appropriate.
Grandiose is a nuanced term, with its pluses and minuses.
The question "Should a presidential candidate be visionary?" is much easier to answer, and for me the answer is "Yes."
The trouble, Ebenezer Clark, is that the pie has been growing all along, but about three decades ago, the new growth has all gone into making 1%'s slice bigger. When the pie has been unfairly distributed in the first place, some redistribution is not a bad idea.
“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. “But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning.”
Grandiosity. Is that a mash-up of grand and pomposity? When forced to listen to the soundbites from the Republican debates,one can hear that Nitt is short on the former and Mewt is long on the latter.
Newt was pandering to the Florida people, a state with a lot of NASA and space industry people. Candidates do it all the time on both sides. But, Newt is running out of new things so say and running out of time. It's time to go Newt.
Grandiose, that also was Tuesday night.
Of course grandiosity is appealing. So is junk food. I think it's telling that Gingrich did more poorly in the one debate where the audience was told to be quiet. He's a master at pandering on an emotional level, regardless of the quality of his actual ideas.
Grandiosity isn't appealing but how do you run for president without it? You have to have the ego of Mitt Romney before you even start.
I don't mind big ideas...even if I disagree with their direction. However, I do want these ideas to be genuine. If they're simply set-ups to drive applause from individual audiences...then they're obviously meaningless.
These days, there is so much fluffy and disingenuous grandiosity in politics, that we're becoming (or have become) incapable of discerning the "big idea" from the "great idea".
As a life long moderate republican, Newt is a huge embarrassment. If he is the nominee, 4 more years of clueless community activist. Moochers can celebrate early as they pick my pocket, legally.
Stick to the basics, grow the pie don't just redistribute the pie. Could not care less about colony on the moon.
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