Hi bp,
I just had a revelation and since the thread seems to be enjoying a lot of flight of ideas posting (which is great fun although hard to keep up with) I decided to share it.
My gut reaction was so extremely negative to Gore the other night that it surprised me. BUt I have finally realized why. He was behaving identical to my older son when he went through his WORST adolescent stage at 16. The eyerolling, smirking, "you are so stupid," act was exactly the same one we endured for a nasty few months. Luckily he outgrew it.
Gore is suffering from a case of arrested development! This does NOT mean that he can't be very, very bright-- while our son was behaving like a jerk at home, he was also becoming a Merit Scholar, and winning state science fairs and getting into great schools. Nonetheless, he was unbearable.
Just as I had this revelation and was putting a roast in the crockpot, I turned on an afternoon talk show where a caller announced that he was a psychologist who had been going to vote for Gore until he saw the debate. He said when Gore used the phrase, "I want people to know who I really am," that was a clear sign of arrested emotional development indicating that he is unsure himself who he is and needs to define himself through others, that his interruptions, his trying to top Bush as in the "I-I-I was at those fires, too!", his repeated exaggerated examples of people's cases-- all were typical of an adolescent's need to appear important.
It does make a certain kind of sense. And it explains why so many analysts have compared his behavior to that of the kid you wanted to punch out in high school.
Alpha male? i really don't think so. Real alphas don't need to make faces, and grunt, and interrupt and speak too loudly. Teenage male trying to be a man seems closer.
A few weeks ago I read somewhere that Gore has always had trouble feeling that he measured up, he wants this presidency desperatelyas the final proof that he is good enough.
As I grow older, I realize that a lot of the adults I thought so smart and in control are actually just giant insecure kids still trying to be the smartest, coolest, most popular. They may have expertise in one area- law, medicine, politics, but the rest of them is just -- people.
Next analysis- GW, is he dyslexic or just suffering from the infamous Texas speech defect-
Just kidding
(I know you raised sons and thought you might have seen the eyerolling first hand too.) |
