Narcissism.
This is the most important word to consider if you want to understand why Sarah Palin is getting conservatives so excited. To say it in a sentence: The McCain campaign is using Palin to manipulate narcissists who celebrate Palin as a way to celebrate themselves.
The following excerpt from Bill O’Reilly’s radio show on Friday afternoon (Sept 12, 2008) helps show what I mean by “narcissism.” O’Reilly is taking a call from a woman who is calling to discuss Sarah Palin’s recent interview with ABC’s Charles Gibson.
O’REILLY: Chantelle. St. Louis. What’s going on, Chantelle?
CHANTELLE: Hi, Bill. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a long time to tell you we named our son after you.
O’REILLY: Oh, how nice –
CHANTELLE: His name is Reilly.
O’REILLY: How nice.
CHANTELLE: So it’s an honor to talk to you.
O’REILLY: Thank you.
CHANTELLE: Um, last night I listened to the interview, and I thought he looked bored. He, um
O’REILLY: Gibson?
CHANTELLE: At one point where, he said something, and she was talking about her son being deployed, and he’s looking at his watch, and he’s kinda, you know, I thought he, his body language insinuated that he wasn’t real impressed with her.
O’REILLY: All right. Well, we’re gonna do a body language on it on Monday. You may be right. Look, he had a long trip to get up there and I think it may be more fatigue than bored.
This is Chantelle’s complaint: Gibson looked bored. “His body language insinuated that he wasn’t real impressed with her.” He looked at his watch when she told him her son was being deployed in Iraq.
So here is what this woman apparently demands of Gibson and of all those who interview vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin: They must appear interested in what Palin has to say. They must give the impression that they find Palin impressive, especially when she mentions that her son is headed off to Iraq.
Here’s my question: Why?
Who the heck does Palin think she is? Why do Charlie Gibson and other journalists have to pretend they think she’s the bestest thing ever?
Don’t get me wrong: Palin deserves an opportunity to answer the questions put to her, and to be treated with the respect owed to anybody being interviewed on television. But Gibson obviously met that basic threshhold, and no one could argue with a straight face that Gibson was rude or inappropriate in the tone or content of his interview. What offends Chantelle — and many other narcissistic Americans who identify with Palin — is that Gibson’s “body language” wasn’t sufficiently full of praise and celebration.
For an even clearer (and more bizzare) portrait of how narcissists relate to Palin, here’s a comment from Matt Miller, moderator of KCRW’s radio show, “Left, Right and Center,” about the same interview.
MILLER: … When I watched this stuff, I was absolutely, I was sort of appalled at Charlie Gibson’s whole demeanor and carriage and behavior. The whole way he tried to make it, when he tried to confront Sarah Palin on “The Bush Doctrine.” “What do you think of the Bush doctrine?” And then, you know, sort of sneering down his nose, literally, with the glasses poised on the perch of his thing, waiting like a, you know, with the, everything about him oozing this sense of “why must I be bothered to deal with a person such as you?” I just found wildly offensive, and I understand why so many people — My big concern, as somebody who wants Obama to win, is that, is to, this just fuels the meme, to use that word, that the media are sort of in cahoots to condescend against, sort of, ordinary Americans in ways that, I think, Sarah Palin kind of represents and appeals to. And I find it off-putting.
If you watched this interview in question, then you can be the judge: Do you agree that Charlie Gibson was literally “sneering” at Sarah Palin? Do you agree that ”everything” about Gibson was ”oozing this sense of ‘why must I be bothered to deal with a person such as you’”? Was the interview “wildly offensive?” If you agree, then you must have been expecting to see an interview that was entirely different from the one that actually occured.
It’s reasonable to ask Matt Miller, Chantelle, and anybody else who found the interview “wildly offensive” to explain how Gibson could have improved his performance. I’m guessing the only facial expression Gibson could have worn to avoid the “sneer” accusation would have been a smile. And he would have had to wear contact lenses to avoid the sense that his glasses were perched condescendingly on the tip of his “thing.” Mostly, though, he would have had to give the impression that he was honored and humbled to interview Palin — only to avoid giving the impression that he wasn’t actually that honored or that humbled.
But why must Gibson accomodate the weird expectations of these McCain supporters? Is this how Palin and her ilk go through life: constantly expecting to be praised and loved and validated. (Here’s a real mind-twister: Would anybody be saying this stuff about Gibson’s performance if Palin were 80 pounds heavier? What if she were a man? I’m not sure.)
Narcissist is a label I use to describe people who expect to be worshipped and feel slighted and resentful when they don’t receive that worship. Narcissists believe they are entitled to praise and celebration, and when they’re treated like “ordinary Americans,” they feel insulted.
Not only do Palin’s supporters believe she is entitled to praise and celebration — they believe she is entitled to your vote. The message is clear: If you vote against Sarah Palin, it’s because you are a sneering elitist who hates Palin because she represents traditional American values.
This narrative is useful to the liars on the right not only because they can exploit Palin to rally their base in this election – but also because over time, this crazy story will intimidate the media into treating Republican candidates like Santa Claus and treating Democratic politicians like repo men.
It’s time to talk back to the narcissistic Americans who feel insulted that they aren’t celebrated and praised more in our culture. It’s time to tell them: If you want to be celebrated, celebrate yourself. If you want to be praised, praise yourself. We are not obligated to validate you, your choices, or your lifestyle. And we resent being referred to as “elitist snobs” for not constantly telling you how awesome you are.
The 2008 election isn’t a reality television show, and if voters treat it like one and elect a candidate to satisfy their pathetic craving for cultural validation, this country will suffer.