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Reaction formation is an intriguing defense mechanism, if you accept Freud's logic. In reaction formation a person defends against unacceptable thoughts or impulses by converting them to their opposite on the surface. The ego thereby fortifies itself at its point of greatest weakness. Freud said reaction formation has a compulsive or excessive quality. For example, a student reported having a fistfight with his father, who he deeply resented for abandoning his mother. The student peppered his essay with statements about how much he loved his father, when it seemed he was having trouble dealing with the exact opposite emotion.

It almost seems an immature reaction too. It reminds me of high school if a boy or girl broke up with someone and they would pretend it was no big deal.

Sometimes I think this guy has no political instinct at all. A little humility would have gone a long way here. It would go a long way in many of these instances but he seems incapable of showing it. Don't get me wrong, I like that he has these weaknesses and I hope our side exploits them to no end. Just as a spectator of human behavior, you can not help but wonder why he doesn't just do the obvious sometimes.