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kentuck

(111,103 posts)
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 07:23 PM Jun 2012

Psychological profile of Mitt Romney:

First of all, let me say that I am not a psychologist. These are just my amateur observations.

With his history of making tens of millions of dollars as a private equity manager and throwing some people out on the street without a job, just so he could make a bundle, tells me that he is not an empathetic person.

Further proof of that personality trait was the story about how he held down a weaker person and cut his hair, without his approval, when he was in high school.

He's a prankster. He enjoys seeing other people suffer. He likes to laugh at the expense of others. As when he held a meeting with a small group of people and someone brought one of their best pies to serve as dessert. He belittled the gesture. Not an appreciative characteristic.

Also, from my perspective, he has a superiority complex. He likes to "fire people". He likes to brag about his material treasures, his wife's Cadillacs, horses, etc.

As someone else pointed out, he has a fake laugh. He is not a sincere person. He is a fraud. This is just my amateur observation.

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Psychological profile of Mitt Romney: (Original Post) kentuck Jun 2012 OP
He likes to put on uniforms and play exercise power. dimbear Jun 2012 #1
sociopath. n/t ProfessionalLeftist Jun 2012 #2
Like dubya but with an average IQ limpyhobbler Jun 2012 #3
I think there are similarities... kentuck Jun 2012 #6
Give it time. Eventually something will come out about him and animals... limpyhobbler Jun 2012 #9
He's not smarter than Bush. Just less accident prone. immoderate Jun 2012 #12
I'm training to be a psychologist Prophet 451 Jun 2012 #4
Does Romney remind anyone else of Bush? AndyA Jun 2012 #5
He's a pod person! Snarkoleptic Jun 2012 #7
He tries to make jokes out of things that are not even remotely funny aint_no_life_nowhere Jun 2012 #8
It's MAGIC! dregstudios Jun 2012 #10
He fits a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder. Odin2005 Jun 2012 #11
And the serial lying. Don't forget the lying. pa28 Jun 2012 #13
Narcissist is my guess. alittlelark Jun 2012 #14
When he was Governor, Romney minted his own coin aint_no_life_nowhere Jun 2012 #16
I agree with every word you said. Auntie Bush Jun 2012 #15
He is trying to please his late father or fulfill his father's demands KurtNYC Jun 2012 #17

limpyhobbler

(8,244 posts)
3. Like dubya but with an average IQ
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 07:41 PM
Jun 2012

Has the same kinds of issues, but is able to string together a complete sentence.

Unable to perceive the suffering of others, even when presented with it directly.

Thinks it's his right to be the boss.

Thinks he worked hard to get where he is today.

kentuck

(111,103 posts)
6. I think there are similarities...
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 07:44 PM
Jun 2012

Privileged and too good to serve in Vietnam, when they had the chance.

But, as far as we know, there were no frogs and firecrackers with Romney?

limpyhobbler

(8,244 posts)
9. Give it time. Eventually something will come out about him and animals...
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 08:48 PM
Jun 2012

Oh wait...just ask Seamus.

Hey, if this is even possible, I actually think GWB was psychologically more "normal" than Romney. At least frat guy Bush had his partying side to him, so he had some other experiences in life. And I guess he liked baseball. He was more well rounded in an odd way. Romney has that bubble boy feel to him. Like he has never really known life outside the bubble set up by his dad's money.

Prophet 451

(9,796 posts)
4. I'm training to be a psychologist
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 07:42 PM
Jun 2012

I would say he has a class-based narcissism, lacks empathy toward those whose situation he does not share ("externalised empathy" which most people develop around 8-10).

He is grandiose and flashy with his lifestyle, a classic braggart. The reason he keeps putting his foot in his mouth is because he's used to showing off his own magnificence, making sure everyone thinks of him as the brightest guy in the room. But he knows that bragging doesn't go down well with most voters so he tries to disguise it and keeps tripping over himself. He's not comfortable with teh common people because he has never been or had to deal with them.

His other problem is that his faith is clearly hugely important to him and a very big part of who he is. He probably talks about his faith with those close to him all the time. But he's aware that the GOP base (and some Democrats) aren't comfortable with Mormonism so he's having to self-consciously censor himself as he goes.

Obviously, I've never met Romney. All of this is based on his public persona, he may be entirely different in private.

AndyA

(16,993 posts)
5. Does Romney remind anyone else of Bush?
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 07:44 PM
Jun 2012

Spoiled rich kids who've always gotten their way. If they got in trouble, their wealthy family's money got them out of it. They didn't have to fight in wars, even though they love war. Fighting them, however, is someone else's duty to their country.

When I see Romney's face, I see W. It's like a bad TV show: same episode, different actor.

Snarkoleptic

(5,997 posts)
7. He's a pod person!
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 08:15 PM
Jun 2012

Sorry to do this to you, but next time you see an extended Mittens video clip, listen to him clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
Since noticing it, I can scarcely hear any words between the clicks after every few sentences.
It's a very disturbing trait, beyond smug, beyond self satisfied, beyond human.

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
8. He tries to make jokes out of things that are not even remotely funny
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 08:43 PM
Jun 2012

As the philosopher Kant said, incongruity is the essence of humor (for example Voltaire's light-hearted description in Candide of very serious things). To understand humor, you must know what is the norm and how a deviation from the norm or an unexpected result provokes laughter. It's like the joke about the liberal, conservative, and moderate who walk into a bar and the bartender says "hello Mitt": the norm is to expect three different people and the incongruity with that norm is that they're all one person, namely Romney. Romney doesn't understand what the human norm is. In this clip, he laughs after trying to come up with what he thinks is a "gay" sounding voice. There's nothing funny there. It's clear that he doesn't have a normal human sense of humor. The insane have a similar problem with grasping the notion of humor as they lose touch with reality and the normal human condition.

http://gawker.com/5900840/mitt-romney-is-doing-gay-voice-in-this-video-says-professional-gay-voice-expert-bob-corff

dregstudios

(48 posts)
10. It's MAGIC!
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 08:50 PM
Jun 2012

Mitt Romney’s Magic Mormon Underwear protects him from the evils of the world including socialism, illegal immigrants, homosexuals and taxes on his inherited wealth. Can these sacred garments also make it rain down enough cash for a victory in this race since well over 90% of public offices are bought in our country by Big Money? Drop by to discuss these mysterious tighty whities and the role of money in politics at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/05/mitt-romneys-magic-mormon-underwear.html

Odin2005

(53,521 posts)
11. He fits a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 08:51 PM
Jun 2012

It is characterized by at least 3 of the following:

Callous unconcern for the feelings of others.

Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms, rules, and obligations.

Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though having no difficulty in establishing them.

Very low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence.

Incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment.

Markedly prone to blame others or to offer plausible rationalizations for the behavior that has brought the person into conflict with society.

pa28

(6,145 posts)
13. And the serial lying. Don't forget the lying.
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 09:00 PM
Jun 2012

Like you I'm no professional but it's interesting to look up the definition of a sociopath or a psychopath and tick off the boxes in comparison to Romney.

Now we find out he used to like impersonating a police officer. We need to keep this guy away from sharp objects and *far* away from ze nuclear launch codes.

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
16. When he was Governor, Romney minted his own coin
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 10:25 PM
Jun 2012

He started handing out coins with the Massachusetts state seal on them and his name like he would a business card. Apparently he had them minted at taxpayer expense and it's supposedly illegal to copy the Massachusetts state seal to use it for political purposes such as advertising or schmoozing with constituents.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/06/11/challenge_coins_give_romneys_gifts_some_personalized_flair/



Whether illegal or not, it seems narcissistic to me to want your own coin, as though you were Lincoln or Roosevelt.

KurtNYC

(14,549 posts)
17. He is trying to please his late father or fulfill his father's demands
Thu Jun 7, 2012, 10:46 PM
Jun 2012

Stuck in prep and boarding schools. His father made his mother run for Senate after his own run for the Presidency was stopped in 1968, now there is Mitt trying the same thing.

Romney has lived with a lot of pressure from both parents and peers. He grew up Mormon during the 1960s and recruited French people into a non-drinking sect. People have said very confrontational things to him and he says many back. My sense is his identity has been so under assault for so long that what we see now is a mixture of insecurity and a lust for power. An old Greek saying observed that "the oppressed oppress" and Romney fits this.

He now comes out of the ass-kissing corporate world where underlings laugh at nasty remarks that aren't funny. Needling humor that puts people down for their cookies or their NASCAR raincoats. The belittling is done to prove to himself that he has the power to get away with it.

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