[Pontiac]

the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Principles of Medical Ethics[1] that states it is unethical for psychiatrists to give a professional opinion about public figures they have not examined[further explanation needed] in person, and from whom they have not obtained consent to discuss their mental health in public statements

Well, being that I am not a psychiatrist, I can say in my unprofessional opinion that Barry Obama suffers from Narcissistic personality disorder and never should have been a Senator let alone the President of the United States.

And that is perfectly within the bounds of medical ethics.

[Eddie01]

Well, being that I am not a psychiatrist, I can say in my unprofessional opinion that Barry Obama suffers from Narcissistic personality disorder and never should have been a Senator let alone the President of the United States.

Sure. There is a mountain of evidence.

[x]

And that is perfectly within the bounds of medical ethics.

Sure, but it's worth no more than the opinion of anybody else -- maybe worth a lot less.

The "Goldwater Rule" was a good one -- not just for mental health professionals, but for everybody.

When conservatives objected to psychoanalysts labeling Goldwater crazy, they were right.

When everybody started throwing around diagnoses of people they'd never met, they were wrong.