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March 14, 2008
Who'll be the next Spitzer?
Posted by: Andoni
By now everyone is familiar with the fact that New York Gov. Eliot "get tough on
prostitution rings" Spitzer was actually patronizing one himself. We remember Ted Haggard railing against homosexuality and
homosexual acts, only to discover that he himself was hiring homosexual
prostitutes and engaging in homosexual acts on the side.
Today we learn in the New York Times that one of Chinaâs leading anti-drinking crusaders, Guo Shizhong, mayor of Xinyang, died -- you guessed it -- in a bar drinking alcohol. Yesterday Chris noted that Oklahoma state senator Sally Kern, with all her anti-gay ranting, may have a gay son.
What's going on with these public figures who go on crusades against what they consider evils or inappropriate conduct in others when they themselves are participating in the same conduct? Freud called this type of behavior "reaction formation." It's a defense mechanism caused by inner anxiety from doing something we think or have been taught is wrong, which is then balanced or defeated by lashing out externally at the very thing that is causing discomfort.
We can each point to countless past examples of this phenomenon at work. But what about those currently in the limelight, but whose hypocrisy remains hidden? Is anyone who goes out of his way to condemn conduct in others justifiably suspect for that very activity? It's a fair bet for a good percentage of these crusaders.
Consider the three finalists in the presidential race: John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. What do these people crusade about most often -- and does that hint about what they may be compensating for internally?
For McCain, the first thing that comes to mind is
his very aggressive opposition to lobbyists and special interests. And yet his
campaign is being run by lobbyists. Is his strong stance against lobbyists a
reaction formation to his heavy reliance on them? Could he be
in bed with them more than we know?
Senator Clinton never forgets to tell us she has 35 years of experience and will be ready to make those tough decisions on Day One, lashing out at Obama for not being ready . Could it be that she is really covering for her own insecurity about lacking much firsthand experience. Is she compensating for this internal unease?
I'm not sure I can think of any examples of where Senator Obama goes overboard crusading for something. I need your help on that one. Any suggestions?
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Comments
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I wish people would stay away from Freudian babble. Most of it has been discredited by today.
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why do so many people want to roll one issue over to another when neither of the two have anything to do with each other?
I've got 2 apples & you have 4 oranges, BIG WHOOP!!!
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Why do Senator Clinton marginalize small states as compared to the big States?
Hillary Clinton has won in the larger States like Texas, Ohio and California but her edge in those states were no more than 10% or less. Texas and California has a large Latino Population. This appears to be her primary base of support. Not enough to win this election. Senator Obama appeal crosses every culture.
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Chris on Mar 14, 2008 5:48:36 PM:
Perhaps the answer about Obama is straight out of today's headlines. Why did Barack Obama stick with Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church over two decades in which he surely heard hate-filled sermons of the type that have gotten headlines recently?
Perhaps Obama in part related to Wright's strident, divisive rhetoric and so responded to it by coming forth with his own, polar-opposite, unifying approach. Is "reaction formation" always bad, resulting in inappropriate conduct?