This will be the 2,597,823rd psychoanalysis of Barack Obama on the internet but from the first moment I became aware of him I noted what a coward he was.
There is the usual talk tough/run and hide dynamic with him but there is an even more fundamental cowardice at work. He, with the help of far too many, has built up an alternative reality bubble that he frantically reinforces every hour of every day. Any intrusions into his fantasy world where he is ALWAYS the smartest, funniest, most capable, most well-read, most consequential person regardless of office or era are met with immediate resentment, anger, and an unquenchable desire to return fire in the most condescending, mendacious manner possible.
To be fair, Trump has a bit of a hair trigger but he has never claimed omniscience or infallibility - he’s usually setting the record straight that the media intentionally get wrong.
I know that Obama seems like the personification of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ but unlike the emperor who became enraged by hearing the truth, Obama continues to pretend that the truth doesn’t even exist. It’s very possible that the lies he tells about prosperity, unemployment, foreign affairs, etc. aren’t viewed as lies by him thanks to an army of toadies. His failure - make that refusal - to read security and intelligence memos is more evidence.
His body language in interviews and press conferences is very revealing. Criticism and tough questions make him lower his head as if he’s considering a bull-like charge at the questioner. It’s also a poker-style ‘tell’ that he’s wrestling with the conflict between fantasy and reality but fantasy remains unefeated and untied in Obamaland.
Very interesting analysis.