Has it it ever occured to you that Mitt Romney may simply be a terrible person?

You are making the very elementary mistake of confusing explanation with excuse.

Even if the medical explanations for Rmoney's oddities are totally and transparently false, that's a bog-stupid thing to do. Also a very conservative one. It's conservatives, for instance, who greet every attempt to explain crime rates by discussing social conditions with the feral belch of "You're making excuses for criminals!"

and if you had ever dealt with someone with alzheimers you would know that. You would also know that it is an excuse for him because no one with alzheimers can't help forgetting things and would do anything they could to remember things the way they used too.

because since I left the Party in 2000, I find that I assume all Republicans are worthless, evil pieces of trash until proven otherwise. Just my humble opinion.

on Huffpo, I saw the massive amounts of hair on his arms.
I betcha he has a lot of hair on his back too.
I know this has nothingbto do with what type of man he is, but hairy backs turn me off.
Just another reason to not like him.
It is a very long list.

(sorry, couldn't resist.)

Big CFA gay-hate-group-hug aside, I still remember a neighbor (kids in the same class) tell me how he, as an attorney, was working with a single mom.  He commented how her dire financial straights meant a hard life for her kid, and how he couldn't help but note that it meant one less competitor for his kid. I was taken aback he would even state such a thing.

Alot of people suck, and they will vote Romney as their king of suckiness.  It is truly scary.

Mitt Romney is a completely sucky human being. He lies so often and about everything whether trivial or huge and cannot believe the hubris of the peasants who question him.

His entire Grand European Tour was just an exercise in arrogance.  He obviously didn't prepare.  He obviously has only ever been surrounded by fawning toadies who glorify every stupid venal syllable he utters.  

Romney is a bully and we can speculate all day on why bullies are the way they are, but that doesn't protect their victims from their bullying.

And no...no Asperger's, no Alzheimer's, no Tourette's.  Just plain old stupid bully.  

Not plain old stupid bully.

Plain old stupid RICH bully.

If it wasn't for the rich, he'd likely be spending a lot of time in jail, in the hospital, or looking for work, because nobody would put up with his shit.

He had enough money not just to go to the private school, but to protect hm from any consequences of his bullying behavior. I'm not sure what went wrong with Mitt. I don't know much about his upbringing, but it seems that his father was a decent man who cared about more than his own wealth.

his whole demeanor drips with "I am better than you."  He scares me because I'm confident that, as president, he will start so much shit that will make dubya look like a pacifist.  He has no regard for the people 'beneath' him.  

He's a stone cold sociopath.  IMO the only person that could give him a run at this is cheney........

Scary.

the stupidity of W, and the sociopathy of Darth Cheney.

Actually, Vader at the end had more humanity than Cheney.

And W. all along realized he was a dufus. Romney is utterly clueless.

"Galactus the Planet Eater". Perfect.

just a douche-bag. He actually feels compassion for some people (ie, like his daughter), even if he doesn't give a damn about others.

Does Mitt Romney even care about his family? Well, let's put it this way. As his daughter, who just had a baby less than a month earlier, was beating him in the annual family race... rather than being beat by a girl, he TRIPPED her to win.

So, yeah, he can't even feel compassion for daughter in law.

I completely agree that Cheney is smarter, though. Romney has proven that to be a filthy rich, you don't need to be a genius... or even smart (let's face it: Romney's a dumb-ass).

You just need to be born into the country's uber elite, just smart enough to learn how to play a system that's rigged, and have a willingness to destroy lives in the process. None of Romney's business actions were particularly smart.

He won whether the companies he bought succeeded or failed, by using rigged rules to privatize the rewards and socialize risks -- such that all the money that could be sucked out of the companies he bought went to Bain, and the employees paid for it, up to and including bankruptcy.

There's no intelligence necessary to do any of that. Just being born into the right family and having the willingness to commit great acts of evil.

Say whatever you want about GWB, but I don't think he was an actual sociopath. Too stupid to realize how damaging his policies were? Or to even realize they were damaging in the first place?

I'm 100% convinced it took him 6-8 years to realize just how godawful he was as POTUS, but I'm also 100% sure he realized that truth by his last day in office. You could see it in his face -- that even he knew he was bad. A true sociopath would never be able to comprehend that.

Romney, on the other hand, is a true sociopath. He thinks he's god's gift to earth. He laughs whenever he's answering any question from the plebes -- and by plebes, I mean 'mere' millionaire TV personalities.

He can't even fathom when he's doing something wrong and how damaging what he's doing is to his campaign, like his holdout over his taxes.

He lacks any and all empathy for his fellow human beings and thinks people should be judged on not only how much they make, but in just how little they pay in taxes on it.

Life is a game to him and he doesn't give one iota of thought or compassion into the losers. In fact, losers should be punished, whether it's attaching a dog to a roof or cutting off some 'dweeb's' hair off in school, laughing about both at the time and even as the stories are retold.

The guy is a sociopath. 100%.

is not stupid or dumb. Those are facts. The other facts are he is privileged, elitist, entitled,avaricious, condescending.

He may be a good husband to Ann and a good father and grandfather. He has been good to his partners, investors and his church.

But he still may be a bad person and a liar.

Thanks, Matt Z.

We all love to speculate, prognosticate, and diagnose.  Some of our best work as humans happens when we try to gratify our continual urge to snap our mental building blocks together in novel ways.

But, you're right:  Alzheimer's, Asperger's, and others are real conditions that happen to real people who could use, at minumum, something more than superficial understanding.

And, finally, you're right about this:  "entitled asshat" is not a medical diagnosis.

Thanks for writing.

to overcome them as best they can. Even if Romney had one of these conditions he wouldn't try to overcome it. He is just a sucky human being.

I completely concur.

This business about Alzheimer's and Asperger's is insuting to those of us dealing with family members who actually have these medical challenges.   It is as Matt Z suggests -- Mitt R-Money is just a shitty,  awful, entitled, asshat.

And thanks so much to Matt Z for this diary.  Best thing I read all day.

The simplest explanation is usually the right one.

and many of the comments reminded me of a collective frist. at best.

like this?

stinkers slide on to the rec list during election seasons.

I didn't like that diary. I know it was just a "discussion," but I think we can do without this sort of innuendo. Why can't we just take Mitt at face value? Frankly, I think he is as transparent as glass. What you see is what you get. He's a plutocratic asshole who doesn't feel that he has to answer to anyone, least of all us commoners. He hates us as much as we hate him. His contempt shines through his every word.

No speculation necessary. We know what we get with Mitt.

when he was a teen committing a hate crime against a gay classmate, he's never been anything but an arrogant entitled bully. a withered soul.

and managed, and whom he sometimes calls friends, like Fraser Bullock.  They are not nice pibbles.  Nothing at all nice about them.  So, I totally agree with this:

He sucks. He sucks harder than an automatic sucking machine. He sucks more than Galactus The Planet Eater fellating the black hole at the center of the universe. He's a sucky person. End of story

personal.  I would diary it, but Mitt had already left Utah by then, though his henchman stayed to gobble up a bunch of local companies and load them up with debt.  The hardest part was disabusing my client of the notion that these folks would be his "friends".  After a while, he figured it out, though.

that money can't buy class.

me think of the "I'm just asking" that Beck tries to get away with.

Why drag innocent victims of a disease into a debate about Romney?

they are sociopaths. They are mentally ill conscienceless pathological liars who smile and lie because it satisfies their need to dominate. They will either kill you and take all your things or take all your things and you will die.  And it is meaningless to these sick people. They surround themselves w/those who experience the same chemical imbalances. We will be at their mercy (and they can't comprehend the meaning of that word) until we finally acknowledge that sociopaths are the root of the ills of our world and figure a way to manage them. The economic system they control promotes the elevation of sociopaths to power.  Any action to ameliorate the impact on our society is just frustrating and ultimately futile, sapping our resources and energy.  We couldn't possibly keep up w/their destruction.  It must be addressed at the root. The sociopaths.

but I was hoping it was some kind soul trying to understand WHY some one, any one, would act like Mitt and Anne do.  Mitt does not act like anyone I have ever known that had Alzheimer's, Asperger's or Tourette's.

I really was hoping it was liberal angst that did not understand that some poeple are just sucky and there is no excuse.

Glad I did not read.

that alzheimer's is a serious disease, blah blah blah. i didn't make it all the way through.

so frequently forgetting what he just said, or what an interviewer just said? My guess is it's b/c he has never had to take anyone's opinions into account, never had to be anything but unquestioned lord of the manor, and therefore is unused to the concept of listening, of words having meaning, of people questioning when you say one thing and then five minutes later deny you said it.

Maybe you should read it, because it did NOT say that he has alzheimers, but it did raise some very valid questions concerning his irrational behavior. Something is definitely wrong with the man.

I explained to the commenter who didn't what the relevant questionable behaviors were. They were not related to the subject of this diary, which is that Mitt is a horrible person. They were related to his failure to remember for a few minutes (much less an entire day) something that was said. My personal feeling about it is above - that it has to do with the fact that he is used to social chatting where as The Richest Person In The Room is always gets a polite smile and a laugh, no matter what he says. But that may not be the reason.

I used to work at a nursing home with lots of patients that did have alzheimers, now I work with special needs children who have varying degrees of autism, Asperger's or Tourette's. Romney's behavior does not justify that kind of specualtion, in my opinion.

He acts strange ... I think it is because he is a child of privilege who has never learned that there are other points of view and people that need to be understood/worked with. He has never had to do either. I am going out on a limb here, but the LSDs also tend not to care about anyone outside their community, they are very insular. his business career was not about building, but about taking capital out of the businesses other had built .... that requires a certain mind set.  You are not going to do what Bain is said to have done if you are thinking about how it will affect the little people.  They do not exist becasue acknowledging them in any way interfers with the game plan.

He is not strange, he is consistent ... consistently selfish, arrogant and out of touch. comparing him to people who have no choice in how they act is not cool, if it was done purposely.

why does Rmoney forget what he said five minutes ago. That is consistent with the title. I don't think Alzheimer's is the answer, but I don't think it's out of line to mention it with respect to repeated failure to remember what one said, or what one's conversation partner said, just a few sentences back. IMO it's more likely b/c of the experience of absurd privilege leading to never having the experience of listening.

of LDS.  I think it has a great deal of importance in the way he is.  He is trying too hard to prove himself, over and over again.

LDS were chased out of NYS, then Illinois to Utah.  They almost invited themselves to be set up with a persecution complex, that can be said to be cult like.  For the last 150 yrs they have had to continuously 'prove' themselves.  

Willard was born the son of a major businessman, who lost out in politics.  Don't forget his father grew up at the time the Roosevelts, Prescott Bush, Joseph Kennedy Sr & others had expanded into politics.  So many of these ambitious men made money and being in the Senate or a Governor etc was the only place they could go further.  It was a vanity.  

But the Mormons were especially ostracized.  And Willard had influential parents & money, but saw his father stopped in part because he was Mormon.  Willard had to make more money than his father, and prove a Mormon could advance in politics.  

As he said, once he left the governorship & Olympics, he was unemployed.  But he still has something to prove - and so all the squirrelly personality traits which could be excused because he had money, are now on full display.  He made money, but his religion is still not accepted.  He doesn't recognize that his inability to connect with people is not like a formal rite of the LDS church.  The LDS Church is very stratified within, and likes to put on an impressive show.

To me he is not only arrogant; he is hollow beyond his own family and church.  

...unless you include evil, wicked and entitled!

is that there really is sort of a continuum in the DSM from valid conditions that require more respect than just to be tossed around as insults, to diagnoses that are a whole lot less precise and sort of function as both insults and diagnoses.  Let me clarify - we all should know that Asperger's is an actual definable issue non-typical brain organization and development, it is not associated with being an asshole, and requires an actual evaluation and diagnosis by someone licensed to do so.  Then there are rather clear mental illnesses like schizophrenia or major depression. None of us would say that people with major depression or schizophrenia are automatically assholes, and though we might speculate that someone is "depressed", nobody is going to toss off a diagnosis of Major Depression.

But what about personality disorders?  These are a whole lot more vague and subjective, less linked to any specific developmental etiology or entirely predictable by environment.  When a psychologist calls someone a narcissist or a sociopath, it's as likely to be an insult as a diagnosis. I am less troubled by Fristing about sociopathy or narcissism than I am about other sorts of Fristing, because the diagnostic categories are suspect, and because these "disoders" really are how the DSM medicalizes the condition of being an asshole.  So I reserve the right to speculate on personality disorders when it comes to politicians or banksters.  That's simply not the same kind of Fristing as Dr. Frist diagnosing brain damage from the floor of the senate.  

Google it.

Google it.

Mitt's picture should be next to the Wikipedia definition. Seriously. That is bang on.

But how is it better to speculate about a mental disorder he might have than to speculate that he has Alzheimer's?  

can be described (to some degree) in psychiatric terms. 'Disorder' doesn't have to mean 'illness' -- it just means 'different from this hypothetical 'normal' that doesn't actually exist.' (:~)

Though in general I agree with you about this sort of speculation. Even if it's not used to somehow excuse or justify behavior (as if understanding something means that we have to just accept the consequences). No matter how much we watch/read about public people, we're still only looking at an image of them.

"Malignant narcissism can be comorbid with other psychological disorders not mentioned above", quoth Wikipedia.

Romney's malignant narcissism may well be comorbid with Alzheimer's.

I don't see Mitt Romney as the worst sort of destructive person possible in psychological terms but he certainly does exhibit narcissistic traits.

An ordinary narcissist can hurt people's feelings and get caught up in their own self-exaggerations.

A malignant one picks a predatory lifestyle because of their perceived superiority and lies frequently.

It is between narcissism and antisocial personality.  Its increased destructiveness, in the eyes of some analysts in history, comes from the fact that it still allows sufficient social function to not be detected as easily as an antisocial person.

I kinda had the same feeling about diagnosing from afar.

I agree that Mitt Romney is essentially just a jerk who is so power hungry he's buried any sense of decency or principles.

complex, I believe.  Spare us, the country cannot take another one!

There are varying definitions of "evil person". Here is one I like:

You are evil to the extent that you treat other people as if they were objects

He's a bad man

Of course, as a human being he deserves all the compassion and dignity of any other person...but he is a shit sandwich.
Politically speaking.

So far his bread has helped him hide some of the shit, but the shit keeps oozing out anyway.

he comes first (and his family, etc).

He is used to getting his way and having things done.  He was the boss.

The difference is now people will talk back to him, point out his mistakes, and not do as he says.  He is not used to this.

I doubt any sub-ordinate in business ever told him he was wrong.

He doesn't think he is a terrible person.  He just doesn't care about others.  This has been shown in how he can just fire people - as long as he makes money.

From his "pranks" with his sons to not having a clue when Ann was diagnosed with MS and not having any interest in her horse being in the Olympics, he really doesn't care deeply about his family.

It's not just that he's rich and out of touch -- there are plenty of rich people with basic human decency. What his wealth does, though, is enable him to get away with that attitude of his.

People of different eras and different belief systems have called his state of being different things -- character flaw, medical condition, plain evil, what have you. Fact is that he has something missing that should be there.

And no one has ever called him on it.

In the lower eschelon, people like this get shunned.
I know someone like this, has the debis of multiple marriages, broken friendships and a family that won't speak to them in their wake. They're not wired wrong. They blame everyone else for what's wrong in their lives. Theyre horribly selfish and have hurt people deeply.

The difference? About $120 million and a family that has said "enough!"

For using your voice and your story in support of Aspies and autistic youth everywhere.

You educate us.

This Mom appreciates it.

And you are totally right, using a heartbreaking disease to find some reason to explain a over-privileged, sanctimonious, un-feeling a-hole is disrespectful to those who suffer with Alzheimers.

Me, too.  Keeping speaking up--you are worth hearing!

I don't do many diaries about stuff I don't know anything about but I'm an expert at being offfending in armchair diognosises. :P I'd rec your comment but Daily Kos is acting funny.

of a Young Man Like No Other - agrees with coquiero and MattZ

I'm with you guys!

xoxoxo

We should start a new Group:  Aspies and Friends Against Romney.  

I'm so tired of people, even "progressives" lumping anything they can't explain or deem not "normal" as being on spectrum.  

Not only is it wrong, but it makes our loved ones lives that much more harder.  

My parents are rich. I come from privilege. I was taught not to say stupid shit.

Well that is a little over-the-top.

But I was taught to not be a dick. Mitt doesn't seen to compute the most basic shit. At this point I question if he can actually interact with anybody in the "normal" way.

Both Ws really have me scratching my head over that one.  

When you are To the Manor Born, you are taught manners, how to act considerate of others' feelings, per Miss Manners, whether or not you actually care about them.  

You are sent to charm school.  You learn not to tell the host country that they look fat in that dress, even--especially--when asked the direct question.  You learn not to give heads of state uninvited shoulder massages, however certain you are of your irresistible charm.
'
How did Willard, and the other W before him, come out of that privileged background so boorish?

think he's aware of the fact that he's a prick.  I don't think he's aware that anyone lives in the country except for other rich kids...and I'm not sure he's fully aware that there is a thing called the 'world'.

You're not going to find it in the DSM.  He's just a bad guy, or if you're feeling charitable, in over his head, misled by his own ambition, whatever.  

bike accident may have given him brain damage that affects his impulse control and memory, but the impulses he has are selfish.

He "puts a human face" on the Banality of Evil.

Frequently.

And maybe there are other things wrong with him, too.

You're absolutely right. And we don't need semi-informed speculation about Mitt's health. We don't even need to read between the lines with him. He's clear as glass. He holds most of the world in contempt, and his distaste and disgust with the rest of us shows in everything he says. He's an asshole plutocrat who wants to plunder more of the world for himself and for his class. This is plain as day and has nothing to do with any health problems he may or may not have.

YES.

My mom suffered from frontaltemporal dementia and I have been struck by similarities between her and Mitt Romney.  Yes, I think the guy is a jerk but I can't help but feel something else is off.   His rambling sentences, seeming to forget what something is called (or someone's name), and his mis-steps in offending others by saying things that astute politicians know NOT to say (or even just your average human being).  And the look of fear in his eyes---it is EXACTLY the look I saw in my mom's eyes when she started going downhill.  He just looks overwhelmed at times, a deer in the headlights.  That doesn't jive with a man who has been in so many positions of power.  Something's wrong....

To say that some of Mitt Romney's recent missteps are a result of dementia isn't excusing his behavior.  I see it more as an explanation for how someone who has gotten to Romney's power and position can be so unpolished and make such stupid gaffes.  I don't think for a minute Romney doesn't believe some of the insensitive things he's said, I'm just surprised he's said them out loud.  That's where the speculation about Alzheimer's or dementia come in for me.  Not to excuse his behavior but to explain why he seems incapable of hiding his true self.  

He's getting questioned. He's not being treated as a all-knowing god. People are actually not laughing at his jokes, acting like he's smart. They're asking questions and not taking his crap answers.

That's never happened before. It throws him off really bad.

Just like a deer that crosses a road and gets lights shined at it when it never did before.

to conceal his true inner horridness long before asshats born with triple platinum spoons in their mouth do.

Assholes can be or get defective.

Romney does seem to be baseline defective and now he seems befuddled.

He seems clearly out of his depth. One would assume he was very very good at what he did but not interested or familiar with anything else. A one dimensional organism.

And whether it's because he's not used to being questioned, or he truly is suffering some sort of physical problem I guess we'll find out with time.

Like I said, if it weren't for that look of fear in his eyes everyone once in awhile I'd just chalk it down to someone completely out of touch due to their own sense of entitlement.  But those who feel entitled usually don't show fear when challenged, they show anger.  

Oh well, the debates should be interesting....looking forward to those.

Not "everyone once in a while".  Typing too fast.

which lie he used beforehand on a question/subject.

Too much stuff for him to correlate before answering.
Also, he is consciously trying to be warm and it just comes off as odd and not genuine.

Bad egg this guy.

It's a lot of work to remember all those lies.  

yeah, he's a pompous entitled jerk and everything everyone else has said, but that doesn't mean he isn't also losing cognitive function.

Given his education and background I expected him to be more impressive and better spoken.  I expected him to radiate competence and power and intelligence in addition to arrogance. I expected him to champion things I abhor but to champion them somewhat well.

Instead, he seems a little befuddled and not very good at thinking on his feet. He rushes to get answers out, perhaps before he loses his train of thought. He is not well spoken and tends toward word salad. He makes lots of odd and awkward word choices.

Just not what I expected at all.

Another edition of simple answers to simple questions.

Mitt Romney is a prick.

As Dr. Seuss would say, it's about ten sizes too small.

Coming.g up with reasons gives him a pass

Let's stop making excuses for Mitt and just admit that he's awful at acting like a human being.

I am sick and tired of people saying this or that person has autism or some disability or disease that makes them (fill in the blank)

Last week, some asshat claimed that the Batman Shooter and Mass Murderer was autistic.

I lost my mind, but to see that shit here on Kos...  I'm glad you wrote this diary. I stayed out of the other one.

"He sucks more than Galactus The Planet Eater fellating the black hole at the center of the universe. He's a sucky person. End of story."

Well said, well-intentioned and very well received!

This is what I posted in the other diary:

His nervous laugh and weird eye blinks are typically both signs of lying.  The laugh has bothered me from the beginning and then I began to notice the strange eye blinks too.  

I think most of what I have observed is symptomatic of a hollow liar.  

I wanted to write a diary with the headline,

"My Name is Mitt Romney, and I'm a Dick American."

That way, it would be inclusive, but it would recognize the important accomplishments and important cultural values that "dicks" bring to the great melting pot that is the US.