Yes, it’s time for another tale of millions of your tax dollars wasted by the NEA on “art” in America.

Supporters of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) like to puff themselves up as saviors of high “art” in lowbrow America. They love to imagine that without their advocacy for spending millions of our tax dollars to support dubious art projects, why, “art” in America would vanish. After all, you people are all uncultured Neanderthals, you know?

Bruce E. Walker recently alerted us of the newest boondoggle to come out of the NEA. This time the NEA is sponsoring hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to video game makers.

Yes, video games. Apparently the NEA thinks we have a dearth of video games in America and they need to rescue this important and neglected “art” from somehow disappearing.

The NEA’s website proudly touts its new agenda to “assist” the electronic media by adding a new category to its list of obviously endangered fields of art. They tells us that the NEA will now turn its attention to, “all available media platforms such as the Internet, interactive and mobile technologies, digital games, arts content delivered via satellite, as well as on radio and television; and media projects that can be considered works of art.” (more…)

On June 14, on FOX BUSINESS’ Varney & Co., KISS bassist Gene Simmons was special guest. He was there to renounce his own vote for Obama in 2008, to point out the dangers our nation faces from the current nanny-state mentality that’s overtaken us, and to point out where we’d headed if we don’t rein in spending and get business friendly once again.

As a citizen of Israel, he also had a strong opinion about Obama’s markedly anti-Israeli foreign policy.

The interview began with Varney pointing out that Obama had admitted he overshot on his predictions for job creation, to which Simmons responded: “[Obama] is a man that I voted into political office and…I want my vote back. …I don’t think the man is unqualified to know the structure [of business] and what business needs.”

Varney next pointed out that although Simmons owns and runs a number of businesses, he isn’t hiring at the moment. He looked at Simmons and asked why he wasn’t hiring, to which Simmons responded: “There are so many barriers. The Government means well, but it’s become our mommy and daddy.”

And from there Simmons simply unloaded: “We never gave our kids an allowance, because in real life when you train your children [that] at the end of the week [they’re] going to get an allowance… when [they] grow up…[they’re] used to getting entitlements,” and to asking, “where’s my money?”  

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Actor/activist/committed Buddhist and Dalai Lama devotee Richard Gere showed up again on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about “religious freedom and human rights” in Tibet, Burma and North Korea.  

Why Richard Gere would be considered an authority on any subject besides the tango is a mystery to those who’ve had the opportunity to hear the man speak without a script. Then again, “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria does intermittently “brainstorm” with the President on border security issues. 

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Following his gripping testimony, Gere was approached by a reporter and asked: “Has President Obama, in your mind,” – which is where it gets tricky – “been tough enough on China regarding human rights?” 

On occasion Richard has been known to criticize Obama for treating his holiness the Dalai Lama dismissively. Like for example the time the esteemed Tibetan monk was secretly escorted in the dead of winter out the back door of the White House and forced to maneuver in flip-flops around White House garbage bags. 

This time, appearing flattered to be asked another question from someone seeking further insight from his vast pool of expertise, Gere, without mentioning China’s “Paramount Leader” Hu Jintao being feted like royalty at a state dinner, said “No, no, he [Obama] has a ways to go.  I think he’s finding his way of how forceful to be.”  

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So Cornel West recently called President Obama “a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats.”

Translation: someone discovered a Thesaurus!

But there’s more: in an interview on some wacky website, he spews…

“I think my dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men… It’s understandable… All he has known culturally is white… When he meets an independent black brother, it is frightening.”

Now in all the coverage of this, the authors painstakingly point out that West is both a Princeton and a Harvard professor, and a leading black intellectual.

They do this because they are scared witless of pointing out the obvious: that West is an ass.

But he’s also a hero, in that he unintentionally brought race-baiting to an absolute absurdity – a black progressive accusing another black progressive… of racism against black progressives!

Now for black conservatives, this kind of defamation is nothing new. (more…)

I’ve written several articles skewering HBO for producing political projects destined to air immediately prior to the 2012 election, where the vast majority of the cast and crew are passionate Barack Obama supporters, and where the content is aimed at the Democrat’s two favorite Republican villains: Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney. So, when I sat down to watch HBO’s Too Big to Fail, I prepared myself for the worst. What I didn’t expect was the big surprise awaiting me.

Too Big to Fail, which premieres on HBO on May 23, 2011, features a star studded cast recounting the events that led to the financial crisis and bailouts by the U.S. government in 2008. It is a mini-series packed into a 98-minute made-for-television movie where several essential characters are quickly introduced and where finance and economics are casually discussed. It may help if one has a baseline of knowledge about the crisis before watching the movie. If one doesn’t know who Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner are or what Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and AIG are, it may prove slightly difficult to follow.

Although the Director, Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile), was limited to telling a very long and complicated story in a very short amount of time, he was able to skillfully pull it off. Perhaps this is because the screenwriter, Peter Gould (Breaking Bad), deftly adapted Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 2009 prize winning New York Times Bestseller, Too Big to Fail. (more…)

Mrs. Doubtfire, a Taxi Driver, a comedian from Brooklyn, and a guy with “Good Hair” are all criticizing Donald Trump, the guy with bad hair.  

While Donald Trump might not be America’s first choice for president, he sure is stirring up controversy.  Let’s face it – if Trump has the chutzpah to wear that hairdo, the guy could care less what anyone thinks of him. 

It surprises no one that Hollywood remains the bastion of liberal thought, lifestyle, and politics, and Barack Obama is Hollywood’s golden child. Barack even inspired Scarlett Johansson to utter the words “Yes we can.” As far as we know, even Bill Clinton couldn’t accomplish that feat. 

So when The Donald decided to take on The Barry, Hollywood quickly came together to take the spotlight off the Presidential debacle and place it squarely on the guy with the lemon-colored pompadour. On behalf of Barack Obama, Hollywood is – no pun intended – “black balling” the Celebrity Apprentice mogul for daring to question the President’s background.  

Hollywood liberals are fine with Obama’s failed presidency – his decimation of the economy, his unending list of broken promises, going to war in Libya, $5 a gallon gasoline and illegals streaming into the mother country called California.  What the Robert DeNiros and Chris Rocks of the world find inexcusable is Trump demanding to see birth and college records. 

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Walk into almost any coffee house or eating establishment around the country where the radio plays continuously and, odds are, it won’t be long until you hear a Jon Bon Jovi song. And when you hear that song, odds are even better that it’ll carry the message of a romanticized view of young love or that of the hard life faced by blue-collar employees, overlooked and under-appreciated by society.

Farm Tax Breaks for N.J. Celebrities: MyFoxNY.com

In some songs, like “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi manages to bring both messages to bear at once: he speaks both of love and of the struggles of the everyday American:

Tommy used to work on the docks
Union’s been on strike, he’s down on his luck
It’s tough, so tough
Gina works the diner all day
Working for her man, she brings home her pay
For love, mmm, for love

I don’t think I go to far in saying Bon Jovi’s lyrics about the struggles real Americans face are ingrained in generation upon generation of “Tommy’s” and “Gina’s” in this country.  So ingrained, in fact, that some may confuse the message of the songs with the messenger, and assume Bon Jovi really is a bulwark for the common man.

Of course he’s not. Instead, he’s just another liberal who talks the talk, but fails to walk the walk. (more…)

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is over, but the opportunity to see a well-coordinated full court press is not. Anyone who wants to can still see that kind of defense by watching the way members of the Left are positioning themselves to cut Donald Trump off at the pass.

Clearly, the host of “Celebrity Apprentice” has trod some ground no expected him to, and the strong reception to his message has the Left discombobulated (to say the least).

The first problem the Left faces with Trump is that he’s a known commodity. All of America knows him and, like him or not, they know he’s not a racist or a crazed member of the political fringe. He doesn’t pretend to be what he’s not, and he’s very confident in what he is. In this latter area he is actually reminiscent of Rush Limbaugh: a man who drives the Left crazy by remaining true to himself and actually knowing what he claims to know. (The Left hates certitude.)

The next problem the Left faces with Trump is the fact he has been a success in the private sector. Thus, were he to officially declare his candidacy, one of the first things Obama’s team would have to do is figure out how they can survive presidential debates where Trump will have the opportunity to contrast his real-world, business knowledge with the failed socialism Obama has pawned off as “hope and change.”

And another problem the Left has with Trump is the fact that he is not ashamed to say things other people think but never say. From asking why Obama has been unable to produce a birth certificate to wondering aloud if Obama is a Muslim to flatly saying Obama has given us “a terrible presidency,” Trump is vocalizing things many others are afraid to vocalize for fear of the backlash (unles you’re Chris Matthews).

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This is remarkable video where Brian Williams’ knee-jerk reaction is defend President Obama — “might be a bit unfair” “got all of his people with him” “appearance” “perception” “gets very little time off” — from the growing narrative that the President is disconnected and distant from the ongoing economic, energy, and international emergencies staring down on every American right now. The golfing, the NCAA brackets, the vacations, the date nights… From an isolated point of view, you might be able to defend Williams here, but when you look at the left-wing media as a whole, you don’t see them doing to Obama what they did to Bush. When a Republican is in office, the MSM is always looking for a narrative to fixate on that will define and diminish. When an Obama is in office and that same narrative opportunity presents itself, they do what Williams does here with Jimmy Fallon: they fight that narrative from gaining a foothold and try to snuff it out.

Another example: Sarah Palin has a successful overseas trip and what does the MSM do? They ignore it until they can make a little hay out of which travel agency she used. But Obama’s addiction to golf, the NCAA, and his dance lessons in Rio while launching  a war of choice with no Congressional approval against a Middle Eastern, oil-producing country that’s not a threat to us gets no play whatsoever. And don’t get me started on the teleprompter.

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DHD:

“Julianne Moore is set to star in HBO Films’ Game Change. Directed by Jay Roach, the movie is based on Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s 2010 book about the 2008 Presidential elections and follows John McCain’s presidential campaign, from his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate to their ultimate defeat in the general election.”

We’ll see how closely the film sticks to the book, but Governor Palin disputed how “Game Change” portrayed her and being as that it was one of the very few books I had time to read last year, it was easy to see why. Written by Mark Halperin of Time Magazine and MSNBC, and John Heilemann of the New Yorker, the lack of sourcing, the use of so many “anecdotes” based on tales told by ”deep background” types, allowed the authors to craft their reporting in a way that was obviously meant to reaffirm the mainstream media’s biased narrative of the 2008 campaign — especially when it came to destroying Palin and enshrining President Obama. I don’t think Palin’s a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination but I don’t think Barack Obama is perfect either, but after reading “Game Change” — other than an out-sized opinion of himself — you most certainly come to the conclusion that the calm, cool, smart, thoughtful, steady, ready-for-history Barack walks on water.

“Game Change” savages Palin with innuendo, gossip, and unnamed sources in order to portray her as some sort of supreme head case and diva who you would never believe was capable of amassing a resume that made her much more prepared to be president than the floundering failure ruining our economy right now. And I’m not the only one saying so. No less than the New York Times, the Atlantic and The Poynter Institute expressed concerns over the book’s gossipy lack of sourcing.

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The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner recently hosted a dinner for the man who’s holding the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner in prison. The Hollywood community and their human rights lobby were oddly silent on this event. Could it be because Hope and Change has been placed over all those “Free Tibet” bumper stickers in Hollywood?

Most notably missing on the current subject of China’s human rights record is Richard Gere, a man who has championed the Tibetan people for years and one who I believe to be sincere in his cause. In 2008, Mr. Gere took to Washington and said this about the Bush administration and Tibet:

But the Bush administration was not silent on the subject and did more than just show the public where Tibet could be found on a map. In 2007 Bush hosted a very public event for the Dalai Lama (also a Nobel Peace Prize winner) and awarded him one of the highest U.S. honors and called on China to open talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader whom Beijing reviles as a separatist.

In 2009 the current administration snubbed the Dalai Lama before Obama’s trip to Beijing, later holding a private meeting with the exiled leader in the Whitehouse Map Room away from the press and then sending his Holiness out the back door. (more…)

There’s something curiously missing from this story on Chicago’s Mantu Dance Company. It may be the only time the company has made big news without a mention of Barack and Michelle Obama in years.

One can only imagine the headlines were it so closely linked to a Republican President.

Illinois officials are taking a closer look at a nonprofit dance company that was awarded a $4.5 million state grant in 2003 for a planned performing arts center on the South Side that has yet to begin construction.

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spokeswoman Marcelyn Love, whose department hands out millions in grant money every year to arts and culture organizations, said the Muntu Dance Theater Co. of Chicago will be placed on “strict oversight” as they move forward with long-delayed plansto build an arts center at 47th Street and Greenwood Avenue in the city’s Kenwood neighborhood.

At issue is a 6 million dollar, if not more, vacant lot in Chicago.

A circular concrete barrier behind a tattered chain-link fence at the corner of 47th Street and Greenwood Avenue in the Kenwood neighborhood is all there is to show for once-ambitious plans to remake a struggling business corridor into a hub for African-American arts and culture.

Eight years ago, the nonprofit Muntu Dance Theatre secured more than $6 million in city and state grants, rights to the two-acre property for $1, and cash donations from the likes of ComEd and Boeing to build a $15 million performing arts center.

At the time, the project came with the blessings of local leaderswho hoped to not only turn around the fortunes of an area littered with liquor stores and boarded-up buildings, but help restore a piece of Bronzeville’s historic luster.

It’s interesting to note that Michelle Obama appears to now have enough time to plan school lunches for every child in America, yet, despite sitting on Mantu’s board for years didn’t seem to be able to find time to provide the least bit of oversight that may have prevented this problem. And that’s not all.

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This week Barabra Streisand emerged from her self -imposed seclusion to grace Larry King and his viewers with her presence on the TV host’s penultimate broadcast.  As the Los Angeles Times put it, the “interview” resembled more of an infomercial for the product that is Barbra Streisand.

In segment after segment Barbra talked about Barbra.  Barbra talked about Obama.  Barbra talked about Barbra.  Barbra talked about Clinton.  And Barbra talked about Barbra.

Larry King dutifully congratulated her on all of her observations.

Here’s one my favorite moments:  When Larry King asked her about the first two years of Barack Obama’s Presidency she laments that President Obama did not use his “executive powers” to unilaterally repeal DADT.  Then, pricelessly, without any sense of self awareness she goes on to praise President Bill Clinton as one of our greatest Presidents.  It would have been at this moment that an actual journalist would have pointed out to Ms. Streisand that President Clinton was the “great” President that instituted the DADT policy that she now wants President Obama to unconstitutionally and unilaterally revoke.  Instead, Mr. King appeared to sit back and admire the beautiful lighting that Ms. Streisand probably supervised prior to the tape rolling.

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[CONTENT WARNING: This post contains harsh language.]

On Wednesday night, Quentin Tarantino was roasted at the New York Friars’ Club. Some of Hollywood’s most famous and talented stars were on hand, many of who did the actual roasting. Among them Samuel L. Jackson, Jerry Lewis, Sarah Silverman, Rob Schneider, Eli Roth, and Neve Campbell. One shameless roaster named Whitney Cummings, often seen on Chelsea Lately, delivered the most buzz-worthy/cringe-worthy line of the night:

[Tarantino has] produced more retarded things than Sarah Palin’s vagina.

Somewhere out there, Andrew Dice Clay is blushing. Not because the joke is off-color, he doesn’t care about that. He’s flushed because it’s unfunny, stolen hackery.

Let’s deal with the unfunny part first: Who is the butt of this joke? A toddler who suffers from down-syndrome and the mother that chose not to destroy him while he was in the womb. Yikes. Regarding Trig: Lay. Off. The. Kids. Okay? Regarding Mama Palin: Is it possible to write a more obvious joke on a more obvious target? I’m sure Ms. Cummings fancies herself irreverent; what would be truly irreverent is if she would harness a little of that hate that dwells in her dreary heart and direct it toward someone who is actually in power. Here are some possible targets she may want to consider: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, or Joe Biden (notice how I’m not mentioning Obama’s children?). If she insists on resorting to humor that’s main attribute is shock-value, why not try a target that might actually shock someone?

Now let’s deal with the hackery part. It’s one thing that Whitney Cummings is mean-spirited, vulgar, and boring, but it’s quite another that she stole this joke. Here’s a super-NSFW clip of Louis CK on Opie and Anthony going on a jag against Sarah Palin that ends with him referring to her vagina as a “retard-making cunt.” (more…)

President Barack Obama is about to learn that Hollywood is the ultimate fair-weather friend, where one hit and especially one flop can change everything about the way a majority of the power in this town will publicly support and stand by you. There’s only one thing these people hate more than everyday Americans and that’s the stench that emanates from a loser. So insecure are they over their own status that when faced with a public failure, the very first instinct these Tinseltown paragons of narcissism summon is to immediately run away out of the selfish fear that some of that stench might get on them.  

Two examples:

In 1978, a young director named Michael Cimino ascended to the very tippity-top of Tinseltown adulation with his sophomore directing effort “The Deer Hunter,” which triumphed at the box office and that year’s Oscars. Subsequently, everyone in Hollywood wanted to be like Mike. And yet, a mere two years after his out-of-nowhere rise to the top and flushed with the power of his own invincibility, Cimono went on a then-unprecedented spending spree to produce the ill-conceived “Heaven’s Gate” which would not only become the biggest financial debacle in all of Hollywood history, but effectively destroy an entire studio, United Artists. 

And thus ended Hollywood’s love affair with Michael Cimino. Oh, he would go on to make a few more films but by most definitions, the toast of Hollywood’s career was all but dead and he would never truly receive a second chance.

Fast-forward to 2008 when a young Senator named Barack Obama ascended to the very tippity-top of Hollywood adulation and won the highest office in the land. Everyone in left-wing Hollywood wanted to be like Barack. And then, right after his out-of-nowhere rise to the top, while still flushed with the power of his own invincibility, President Obama went on an unprecedented spending spree to produce the ill-conceived Heaven’s Gate of economic plans which would become the biggest financial debacle in generations and the Waterworld of health care plans which would prove to be more unpopular than some diseases. Overnight, the net result of both would all but destroy the hard-earned gains of the Democrat Party in a single midterm election.

And thus ended Hollywood’s love affair with Barack Obama. (more…)

UPDATED***

The left is afraid of the election of Marco Rubio as Senator of Florida in the exact same way as they were afraid of Sarah Palin when she was chosen as the Vice Presidential nominee by John McCain. It has been clear from the beginning that both are ascendant as potential game-changing political stars and need to be destroyed. So it’s no surprise that Arianna Huffington tweeted the following:
The reason why so few Senators are chosen as Presidential nominees is that the job is not an executive position; Governors tend to be preferable because they have executive experience. Rubio was just elected to to vote “yes” or “no” on things, which is why Arianna’s analogy of “dictator” is incomprehensible and utterly unrelated to his leadership position. There is nothing dictator-like about a Senator. So what exactly was the Queen of social news media’s tweet really about? (more…)

If opening night reviews are to be believed, the newest theatre hit of the year may have just premiered in Minneapolis last night.

Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham has embarked on an ambitious venture that is sure to make most mainstream (left of Karl Marx) theatre critics scratching their heads – if not pulling the hair out of them. In the wake of her best-selling book, “The Obama Diaries” Ingraham has assembled a multi-media stage extravaganza complete with actors playing the roles of the President and First Lady.

I’m looking forward to providing our readers with a first-hand critical assessment of the production, but until then we’ll have to rely on some of the lucky folks in the audience last night. According to “MinnCon” at Redstate:

In a word, the show was “Obamalicious,” (satirically heavy on the “malicious”) and combined live onstage narration and hosting by Ingraham with real audio clips, photos, videos, and skewering-yet-spot-on impersonations of our imperious President and the First Lady by two fine performers.

Played – no, NAILED – by actors Russell Brown and Selma Schmidt (I believe those were the names – a printed program was not provided) the fictional secret thoughts of Mr. and Mrs. Prez came to life in all of their vainglory.

For the record, Reggie Brown played Obama and Sonja Schmidt played Michelle and yes, I hear their performances are spot-on and hilarious.

From my perspective (and the perspective of any good capitalist) the only real measure of a show is how it does at the box office.  And  by that measure, “Obama Diaries, LIVE” appears to be a hit.  The show played to capacity audiences in not-so-conservative Minneapolis.  If the show can play there, imagine how it will do in Dallas. (more…)

So here are some poll numbers that should scare the low-waisted chaps off Democrats. By a 50-42 margin, Ohio voters say they’d rather have George W. Bush as President right now than Barack Obama. Also, among voters in Gallup weekly tracking of 2010 congressional preferences, Republicans lead by 51% to 41%. That lead is the largest since Gallup started tracking the stuff in the early 1500’s!

Now, there’s a reason Bush looks good, but it has less to do with the man, than the media. Think about it: “back then,” you didn’t have reporters calling you a dumb racist every time you ragged on the President! What makes Obama unpopular? For one: you can’t disagree with him, without being called something bad.

Check out Chris Matthews, the tingling mess who cannot fathom why no one is happy with Mr. Wonderful.

Okay..where to start…

First, people can admire Obama and still disagree with his policies. I think he’s a decent guy, and the best liberal president I’ve seen. But I also can’t stand him because he is the best liberal president I’ve seen. Matthews can’t see that it’s about ideology, not race. Maybe he’s the bigot!

Look, concerning his unpopularity, Obama is the least surprised of all. He planned to lose friends from the start. What makes him smarter than Matthews: he knew America would hate his agenda. (more…)

I was surfing the internet yesterday and came across an article about the current state of political comedy by Paul Waldman. The article “The Joke is on Us” was posted on the far-left website “The American Prospect.” The subtitle of the site is “liberal intelligence” which is, of course, an oxymoron. That aside, the premise of Mr. Waldman’s article is that there is a dearth of humor about Barack Obama. It reminds me of when Nixon was elected and New York Times film critic Pauline Kael being shocked because only one person she knew voted for him.

Mr. Waldman postulates that this lack of Obama material is because Obama is so cool, so intelligent, and so unflappable that he is immune to being made the butt of any jokes! He actually says, “…our current political leadership isn’t all that funny.”  I assume he includes the Vice President in that statement – so apparently he and I hear different Joe Biden sound bites. I strongly doubt he has ever listened to Rush or Glen who daily skewer Obama, Reid and Pelosi.

Mr. Waldman, like Ms. Kael suffers from having a limited circle of exposure.

Before I get further into that, let me just say a big “thank you” to Mr. Waldman for reinforcing a concept that I have written about several times: Conservatives have a better sense of humor and are more willing to be self-deprecating than lefties. You see, my fellow right-wing nut jobs, in Walden World, Bush, Rush, Palin and anyone else who isn’t hastening the “Marxization” of America is a moron who should be belittled for their obvious lack of intellect. Leftist, on the other hand, never do anything foolish. All of their causes are above mocking.  Let me illustrate: (more…)

Dandy New York Times op-ed columnist and alleged intellectual David Brooks took time out last week from admiring Barack Obama’s “perfectly creased pant” and bemoaning America’s disregard for his beloved educated elite class to explain the Mel Gibson mess in The Gospel of Mel Gibson. With all the pop-psychology gravitas of a Cosmopolitan sex advice column, Brooks declared Gibson the prototype narcissist, the “Valentino of all self-lovers:”

His self-love is his most precious possession. It is the holy center of all that is sacred and right. He is hypersensitive about anybody who might splatter or disregard his greatness. If someone treats him slightingly, he perceives that as a deliberate and heinous attack. If someone threatens his reputation, he regards this as an act of blasphemy. He feels justified in punishing the attacker for this moral outrage. And because he plays by different rules, and because so much is at stake, he can be uninhibited in response. Everyone gets angry when they feel their self-worth is threatened, but for the narcissist, revenge is a holy cause and a moral obligation, demanding overwhelming force.

Perhaps if Brooks weren’t so infatuated with that impeccable crease, he’d realize he just described the President.  Are all of the educated elite this dense?

“Narcissist” belongs to the “genius,” “love,” and “Nazi” category of words that have long ago lost their true meaning from overuse and misapplication (e.g., “I so love Obama because he’s like a genius who’s gonna fix all that stuff that dumb Nazi Bush messed up.”).  The prevailing view among clinical psychologists is that is that narcissistic personality disorder is rooted in self-loathing, not this precious self-love Brooks speaks of.  No matter.  Brooks’ educated elite class credentials give him the authority to use the term any way he wishes, and to diagnose Gibson based on a glimpse of the man at one of the lowest points in his life.  I wonder what penetrating insights Brooks could glean from the celebrated voicemails of Alec Baldwin and Pat O’Brien.  And was it self-love or love of underage sodomy that motivated Hollywood folk hero Roman Polanski? (more…)