Why does Bush seem to wear the Presidential Seal on every

article of clothing? It says something but as I am not a psychologist, I can't figure it out. Is there a doctor in the house who can explain this phenomenon?

But I would guess it's a "reaction formation" against his illegitimate presidency. Of course, this is a common defense mechanism used by Republics/conservatives.

kinda like the "commander-in-chief" thing. If you see it and hear it enough, you'll believe it too. :evilfrown:

people will know to return him to the Oval Office.

:rofl:

Awesome. :rofl:

and wearing the seal makes him feel like a big shot.

He didn't earn the presidency; he stole it. I think somewhere buried in that drug-addled brain of his there is a flame of guilt that he is trying to overcompensate for.

The flight suit of "Mission Accomplished" was another manifestation of this.

(probably his actual age when Babs quit alternating the breast feedings with beatings and just went with full-time psychological and physical torture)

and is playing dress-up because he doesn't know the difference between playacting and reality

very strange. Yesterday someone posted a pic of him wearing cowboy boots with the seal on the front. Reminds me of an incompetent army officer I remember who carried a swagger stick around.

the republikkkans are gonna auction the shit off to idjits to pay for the 08' election.

Then he'll forget he's prezdint.

... but I'm a "highly knowledgeable layperson"...I'm the daughter of two shrinks who were studying for their Ph.D.'s while I was in high school...mom essentially "took" me through her program. I "got" to hear lectures about every single new topic she had studied, and had the (god-awful) privilege of being her guinea pig that she could psychoanalyze every chance she got...and there was no escaping. I'm a confused mess to this day, but highly knowledgeable; even my father thinks the school my parents attended should grant me an honorary doctorate!

Anyway...

Bush knows that he is a sham, that his Presidency wasn't earned, that he's illegit (in terms of qualifications and public support). His excessive wearing and display of the Presidential Seal, statements like, "I'm the Decider", "I'm a War President", "My Decision(s)", etc etc and his need to be shielded from naysayers ("Free Speech zones", hand-picked audiences, etc) are all mechanisms by which he is attempting to "prove" that he is substantial (because, in reality, he knows he isn't).

People who know whole-heartedly that they are the "genuine article", "the Real Deal", and are secure with themselves and accomplishments have no need to flaunt awards, status, degrees, etc. They know who they are and thus have no need to "prove" themselves--to themselves or anyone else. They have a strong sense of Self ("Self" with a capital "S" is different from "self" with a lower-case "s").

Those with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) have no "Self" (that is the essence of the disorder)...that's why the name "Narcissistic". Narcissus was the guy who looked into the water, saw his reflection, and fell in love with it. The reflection that he fell in love with was just an image and in liquid, meaning that what he fell in love with was not only not real and "nothing to it", but it was not solid/substantial--agitate the water ever-so-slightly and the image becomes distorted or disappears entirely. Narcissus fell in love not with a person, but a fleeting image with no substance. The Narcissist (person with NPD) is in love with an image of himself that has no basis in reality, and demands that that image that he decides he wants is "reflected" (like Narcissus' image in the water) to him by his environment. His image of himself, like a reflected image in water, can be shaken or destroyed with the slightest agitation, which is intolerable to the narcissist; thus, anything and anyone that does or might possibly "agitate" his own desired image of himself must be destroyed or banished, and constant external reinforcement of the narcissist's desired image of himself (and how wonderful he is) must be present.

Bush is a narcissist (has NPD). His desired image is that he is "chosen" by the American people, powerful, capable, correct, heroic, wise, and--most of all--*important*. Bush's ultimate hang-up, in my view, is his overwhelming need to be seen as *important*. "I don't pay attention to polls" and "I don't read the newspapers" translates to "I'm too *important* to do such things". "I'm a War President", means "See, I'm an *important* President! I'll be prominent in the history books because I did something *important*!" He was "too important" to complete his stint in the Air National Guard, "too important" to bother studying to get better grades, he's "too important" to bother working on speaking correctly, and so on.

Bush requires constant external reinforcement of his desired image--which is really his desired Self (of which he has none)--and banishment of anything that either does not actively reinforce said image or goes so far as to counter it. Hence, the "Free Speech" zones, hand-picked audiences of cheering supporters, "advisors" who never tell him he's wrong, the firing of people who oppose any of his ideas or policies, and so on and so forth. His image of himself as President is as fragile as a reflection in water...and, as is always for the narcissist, his image of himself is a substitute for an actual Self; without his image, there is nothing. There is nothing to this man; there is no Self, no substance.

His (false) identity is that Presidential Seal. Take the Presidential Seal away from him and nothingness is revealed. Bush knows--at least subconsciously--that he has no Self, and his surrounding himself with the seal is his desperate attempt to assume his identity as a person who is Presidential (his desired image)--knowledgeable, wise, capable, important, and chosen by the American people to lead. He puts the seal on everything to provide him with constant reinforcement of his (deluded) image of himself.

Same goes for the whole "Texan" thing: boots, BBQ food (like at the inaugural ball), stupid "accent", constant references to Texas--"In Texas, we have a saying...", having world leaders meet with him at the "Texas ranch", the cowboy shtick, etc.

Same also goes for the "Commander-in-Chief"/military service/war thing: flight suit, surrounding himself with soldiers, incessant "commander-in-chief" crap (it was written on the plane, he has jackets that have the "title", etc), "we're at war", "in this time of war", speeches at military bases, and so on.

The narcissist is the ultimate "wanna-be". But the narcissist never "can be", because without a Self, one can't "be". "Be-ing" requires identity, and identity requires Self. No Self=No identity. With Bush, it really, truly IS all about image. Because that's all there is.

Make sense?

But I came to same conclusions. He has to constantly keep telling himself, he's the real deal because somewhere in the back of that pathetic little mind of his, he knows he's not. He knows he's a sham. It reminds me of the story I read, I think here on DU, where he was meeting with a mother of a recently killed soldier. He entered the room and said, "I'm George Bush, President of the United States." Well daaa, who else would she have been there to meet, like she wouldn't know who he was? Again it goes to show how he has to re-inforce who he is. That's how little of a man he is.

I used the more wordy and academic language, but you get what's going on.

The only thing I would emphasize is that he's not reinforcing "who he is", but *what* he sees himself *as*. I believe the distinction in the language here is extremely important, as so we remain completely clear about exactly what it is we're dealing with, what we're faced with.

Someone who simply sees himself as "The President" and is incapable of psychologically identifying with personality traits such as leadership and sense of duty, and as someone sworn to "preserve, protect and defend" is an extremely dangerous person to be in charge of running the country.

The Personality (personality in the clinical sense of the word) is not properly developed in the narcissist (hence the label "Personality Disorder"). Narcissists have no idea "who" they are. If you don't know who you are, you have no ideals, no principles, no clear perspectives.

My mother always used "chameleon" to describe narcissists: they adjust their "color" (meaning their image) of themselves to their environment, taking on the image/persona that will get them the most attention and glory. Bush touted, "I'm a War President"; several months later, he proclaimed, "I want to be remembered as the President of Peace" (note the religious overtones--like "Prince of Peace", or Christ). That's the "chameleon behavior" my mom taught me about. The scariest thing about this is: THE NARCISSIST DOESN'T KNOW HE'S DOING IT!

Bush's desired image of himself--his (distorted) perception of himself--is constantly shifting, which means his (distorted) perception of the world and people around him is constantly shifting as well. Nothing is consistent. Fucking scary as hell!

that as an American, I am highly offended by Bush's inappropriate and excessive "use" of the Presidential Seal.

The Presidential Seal is a symbol representing the dignity, duty, and honor of the highest office of this country. Only 43 individuals in the history of this nation--only five of them (or fewer) still living (please correct if I'm in error)--have been granted the privilege of having their name and personage associated with this symbol. It is neither holy nor sacred, but still deserving of appropriate and respectful use for the reason of what it stands for.

The Office of the President is an abstraction encompassing the qualities of leadership, dignity, duty and honor; this is what the Presidential Seal represents. It is not representative of a person, but the honor and privilege of a person having his/her name associated with it is one that is granted by the American People.

To plaster such a symbol all over the place is to trivialize it. It squelches the dignity and honor that the Seal was meant to convey.

Bush's overusage (exploitation) of the Presidential Seal--epitomized in the photo of him wearing socks with the seal while wearing that hideous, grubby outfit--is not only pretentious, but an expression of his tackiness and low-class mediocrity. It is an advertisement to the world of his disregard for the Office of the Presidency. He has used the Seal to represent himself, replacing the dignity of the Office of the Presidency with swaggering, arrogance, and ignorance. It's offensive.

Carter
Bush I
Clinton
Bush II

Oh, wait, that was John McCain.