[lbo-talk] Is Obama Depressed?

[Wojtek S]

[WS:] I am pretty depressed with the current political environment
even though I stay out of it as much as possible.  If I were to deal
with it head on every day, as O and other politicos do, I would not
just be depressed, I would either off myself, or perhaps wake up one
beautiful morning, look into my fellow politicians' eyes, say "fuck
you all, people" and walk away.

Wojtek

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 9:09 AM, James Leveque <jamespl79 at gmail.com> wrote:
> In attempting to come up with an explanation for Obama's "listless"
> performance of late, the NYT is looking into the possibility that he's
> clinically depressed. It sounds like the Times is stretching for other
> tortured explanations for why Obama refuses to stand up to the GOP.
>
> http://gawker.com/5839440/is-barack-obama-depressed
>
> Wouldn't you be? Barack Obama is at the nadir of his political popularity
> and effectiveness. He has been maneuvered into an economic corner of 9%-plus
> unemployment by a relentlessly nihilistic Congress. His achievements—killing
> bin Laden, saving the auto industry at negligible cost—are written off as
> flukes. Plus all this 9/11 anniversary stuff! We hear the *New York
> Times*is looking into whether it's all starting to get to him—like,
> *clinically*.
>
> We're told by a source inside the *Times* that the paper is preparing a
> story arguing that Obama no longer finds joy in the political
> back-and-forth, has seemed increasingly listless to associates, and is
> generally exhibiting the litany of signs that late-night cable commercials
> will tell you add up to depression. Or maybe Low T<http://www.isitlowt.com/>
> .
>
> Either way, the investigation was described to us as taking seriously the
> notion that Obama may be suffering from a depressive episode. Of course,
> absent a telltale Wellbutrin prescription or testimony from the man himself,
> it's really impossible to achieve a reliable diagnosis. And a story like
> "Obama Appears to Suffer From Depression" can be easily downgraded to
> "Political Travails Begin to Take Personal Toll on Obama." So the story in
> question, if it ever comes out, may not end up supporting the depression
> thesis. But rest assured: There are people at the *Times* who, based on the
> paper's reporting, believe Obama is depressed—the kind of depression where,
> if he weren't the president of the United States, he wouldn't be getting out
> of bed in the morning.
>
> As per usual, a *Times* spokeswoman declined to comment: "In keeping with
> our policy that we don't comment on stories that we may or may not be
> working on, we will not comment in this case."
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