Lindsey Graham is a dangerous narcissist: Why his stunted worldview is such a threat

[DonViejo]

GOP presidential wannabe isn't just a neoconservative or a reflexive hawk. He's something much worse

ELIAS ISQUITH

Forgive the generalization, but most politicians are narcissists. And that’s okay, really; in many respects, the Constitution was designed to channel the energy of ambitious individuals toward the greater good. So having our politics dominated by vainglorious overachievers, while far from ideal, is not always such a bad thing. It’s a feature, in other words, not a bug.

Yet even by the standards of national politics, there are limits to how narcissistic a lawmaker can be without hurting the country as a whole. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has never been a paragon of modesty, for example; but now that he’s running for president, he is pushing those limits to their breaking point. And if he somehow wins the GOP nomination — or, God help us, the presidency — his blinding self-regard will end up harming others much more than himself.

For a case in point, take a look at what Graham said Wednesday about why he’s running for president. According to National Journal, Graham, in his “first big foreign policy speech” of the campaign, said that anyone who doesn’t believe “the world is falling apart” should support somebody else. He wouldn’t pander for such a person’s vote, he said, because he is “more worried about letting this threat grow stronger than getting criticized myself.” He seemed to think that by saying this, he was being selfless.

This is an oddly self-centered way to frame a debate over foreign policy. But as Graham continued, it became obvious that he hadn’t had a slip of the tongue, and that this was indeed how he thought about complicated issues of geopolitics, life, and death. “If you’re too tired to defend this country,” he continued, “if you’re too war-weary, don’t vote for me.” It is as if Graham believes that the only reason one might differ with him on these matters is, in essence, because they lack moral fiber. You may be too weak and lazy to do the right thing, but Lindsey Graham, according to Lindsay Graham, sure isn’t.

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http://www.salon.com/2015/07/09/lindsey_graham_is_a_dangerous_narcissist_why_his_stunted_worldview_is_such_a_threat/