Maureen Dowd, "That’s Not Amore": Actually, It's a Perverse Kind of Love Known As Narcissism

"Narcissistic Personality Disorder involves arrogant behavior, a lack of empathy for other people, and a need for admiration-all of which must be consistently evident at work and in relationships. People who are narcissistic are frequently described as cocky, self-centered, manipulative, and demanding. Narcissists may concentrate on unlikely personal outcomes (e.g., fame) and may be convinced that they deserve special treatment."

- Psychology Today (http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder)

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "That’s Not Amore" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/opinion/dowd-thats-not-amore.html), Maureen Dowd describes an imaginary morning experienced by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, John Boehner. Dowd writes:

"'I’m so tired of Obama,' he keens to himself. 'The president says he wishes he had Kevin Spacey to deal with. Well, so do I. I’ve been here for 22 years and that cat acts like I don’t know what I’m doing. He wafted through Congress like a cool breeze, while I spent years sweating out big deals with Democrats.

. . . .

'Washington used to be an adult place where you could slug it out during the day and have a few slugs at night, making deals in rooms that I personally filled with smoke. Now Congress is a crap sandwich. We used to pretend to hate each other. Now we really do.

. . . .

In 2011, I kept these looney-tunes at bay. But maybe I don’t have any more tricks up my sleeve. Now the kooks have overpowered me, made me look like one of the weakest speakers ever. Not exactly the legacy I was shooting for.

'I knew this shutdown was trouble. I’ve gotta decide if this job is even worth it if I have to be Cruz’s sock puppet.'"

Regarding the government shutdown, there's enough blame to go around involving both sides of the aisle in Congress and also the White House. How did the government shutdown come about? At least part of it has to do with the fact that Washington probably has a higher concentration of narcissists than any other city in the United States.

"That's not amore"? Well, narcissism is in fact a perverse kind of love.

How to solve this mess? Simple. Bring in a skilled negotiator, who can talk these monkeys down from their trees (see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.co.il/2013/10/thomas-friedman-our-democracy-is-at.html). The alternative? A financial disaster, which a shaky American economy cannot afford.