Trump’s First-Rate Madness?

Love him, or not, our President has been the story of the year. I am reminded of something learned while reading one of the more personal books about Bob Dylan. A party was being planned and someone mentioned inviting Bob. “Don’t do that,” another said. It became quiet as he continued, “Bob sucks the life out of a party.”

The Trumpster has sucked the life out of the party for all of US. He has monopolized the news to the point he has become a caricature:

He has embarrassed US:

The sycophancy shown by members of the Cabinet, including the man a heart-beat away, was something one would expect from North Korea…

In Cabinet meeting, Pence praises Trump once every 12 seconds for three minutes straight
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/12/20/in-cabinet-meeting-pence-praises-trump-once-every-12-seconds-for-3-minutes-straight/?utm_term=.a2a15935dc96

How did it get to this from this?

There is a book which may bring hope…A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness, by Nassir Ghaemi.

From Amazon:

This New York Times bestseller is a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership. Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Programme at Tufts Medical Center, offers and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: the very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln’s “depressive realism” to the lacklustre leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind.

All we can do is hope…