Ask Me Help Desk - Why Romney is the way he is

Why Romney is the way he is

Like Daryl Hannah, Dan Akroyd, probably Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Keanu Reeves, Al Gore, and many others, Mitt Romney probably has Asperger's syndrome.

He's very smart, but as an Aspie he has trouble connecting with people, and it's why he seems to have no empathy for the common man, why weird comments come out of his mouth (HE knows what he is saying but no one else is quite sure what that is), why he doesn't see cause and effect which means his judgment can be poor with over-simple/under-thought-out solutions (e.g. traveling with his dog on the car roof), why he has a forced and barking ha-ha-ha laugh (typical of an Aspie when he knows a laugh is expected), why he is able to really zero in on something he loves and be successful in a very structured career, why he moves awkwardly and appears stiff. Please read up on Asperger's and you'll see what I mean.

I copied this from an Aspie chat board, WrongPlanet.net, The Online Resource and Community for Autism and Asperger's--

(New Zealand diagnosed Aspie): I am vaguely following American politics, and it seems very plausible to me that Republican candidate Mitt Romney has some kind of high-functioning autism. He is often described as being like an alien, or a robot, finds odd things to be amusing, and genuinely seems to have an extremely simple, naive personality. He was an "energetic child", and he has achieved success in a field that most people would find boring (venture capitalism).

He is often accused of "having no convictions", or "having no personality", which reminds me a lot of many people with Asperger's syndrome. He simply is not an ideologue, and just wants to try to do his best.

But the clincher was when I saw this clip:

Mitt Romney Loves Cars, Lakes, & Trees... - YouTube

Everything about this clip screams "Asperger's" to me. He is actually being quite genuine, but the way he describes his feelings is very odd. His description of "the right height for trees" reminds me hugely of the sort of thing that aspies say. Also, he clearly had a special interest in cars, and is probably not exaggerating when he says that he had a photographic memory for them.

I think that he is a very misunderstood figure. He isn't a heartless monster, he's an aspie who maybe has a very naive idea of how the world works.

(from Does Mitt Romney have Asperger's Syndrome? - Politics, Philosophy, and Religion)

That's possible . I know someone who is aspy and sometimes the random comments come out of the stratosphere .

But I'm more inclined to believe that Mittens is the embodiment of Thurston Howell III of Gilligan's Island . He is like John Kerry ,going to a Wendy's for a photo op before secretly leaving to eat take-out gormet meal from Nikola's Restaurant at the Newburgh Yacht Club .How else does one explain Mittens going to a NASCAR event and proudly telling everyone that he doesn't know any of the drivers ,but he knows some of the team owners ?

Now that doesn't mean he won't be a better manager of the nanny-state than the current occupant of the White House . It just means that he isn't "severely conservative " .
Is that good enough for us ? It will have to be.

He is a business man who makes money and he will run government to make money... for his rich business friends.

He is the candidate of the 1%, and that's who he will defend. Don't believe me, look at his tax plan.

Obama Camp on Romney Tax Plan: Where's the Beef? - Yahoo! News

Quote:

The non-partisan Tax Policy Center has estimated, based on publicly available details, that Romney's tax plan would add $900 billion to the federal deficit in 2015.

The Romney campaign disputes the estimates, however, insisting that robust economic growth spurred by the tax cuts would in turn yield higher tax revenues overall, thereby offsetting the cost of the initial cuts.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...s-tax-plan.php

Quote:

To boil it all down, the federal government by and large spends money on national security, popular programs for the poor and old, and on broader benefits via expenditures in the tax code. Romney wants to shrink the pool of money dramatically, without cutting spending on that first big category. That's consistent with the conservative movement's goal of “starving the beast” and phasing out domestic support programs. But their leading candidate won't say that's what he plans to do.

Yeah, Tom, that's why we have a nanny state, because rich guys have all the money already, and they stopped the trickle down a long time ago. That's all we need is another trickle down guy.

Those in the article you link to that say his plan can't be scored ,because of undetailed assumptions, are correct. And yet the Tax Policy center does it anyway ;and we are supposed to think their scoring is credible.

I don't think his plan will be relevant ,because whoever is the nominee will have to adopt the Ryan budget plan as POTUS... Two individual rates -- 15% and 25% .Then we could concentrate on the real problem ,which isn't taxing... it's spending .

BTW don't you think it is completely irresponsible for the Senate to block the passing of a budget for 3 years ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

BTW don't you think it is completely irresponsible for the Senate to block the passing of a budget for 3 years ?

Hello tom:

I don't want to hijack WG's thread, but I don't know that it's irresponsible... Clearly, the budget doesn't have anything to do with how actual money is spent, because we've been spending, and the government hasn't closed down, in SPITE of not having passed a budget.

So, if it's a WISHLIST instead of an actual working document, then I couldn't care less about it. If I'm missing something, tell me what damage has been done by NOT passing it.

excon

Quote:

Originally Posted by excon

I don't wanna hijack WG's thread

That happened long, long ago.

OK back to the Aspy topic... I don't think it's a disqualifier . I know Aspys who function quite well . Obviously Romney has done very well in his life and has been a success at whatever he's tried .

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

Obviously Romney has done very well in his life and has been a success at whatever he's tried .

Same with Obama.

Didn't know Obama was Aspy .

I didn't say he was.

Didn't Romney have a bit of an issue with his Romneycare?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

ok back to the Aspy topic .... I don't think it's a disqualifier . I know Aspys who function quite well . Obviously Romney has done very well in his life and has been a success at whatever he's tried .

I've been married to one for nearly 45 years. Yes, he has kept a job and is smart about certain things. Typically, an Aspie has trouble focusing and looking at the big picture, trouble discerning and judging, trouble relating to people, is unable to empathize, is rigid in his thinking (can't think outside the box), tends to be very literal. Have you ever seen Big Bang Theory and watched Sheldon Cooper, an Aspie every inch of the way? Romney may be a terrific venture capitalist, but do we want him running the country?

I see no evidence that he is Aspy .As you said ,the person I know is very introverted . Romney is a very political person which means ,despite the apparent awkwardness has had a great degree of success as a political person and a leader .

And Sheldon is by far my favorite television character . I discovered the show last year and with TEVO, I believe I am current on all reruns. It is to only sitcom I watch on a routine basis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

I see no evidence that he is Aspy .As you said ,the person I know is very introverted . Romney is a very political person which means ,despite the apparent awkwardness has had a great degree of success as a political person and a leader .

If you had lived with an Aspie for 45 years, you would have absolutely no doubt Romney is an Aspie. Ask the mother or wife of any Aspie (as I have done), and they will concur. Romney is definitely on the spectrum. Success as a politician and leader? Where? When? Aspies are smart and have many good qualities, but running the US isn't one of them.

I get it . The people who are champions of the rights of the challenged say they need not apply . The rest of your comments about his records proves you are not looking at this subject objectively ,but instead through your own political prism. Lincoln was a manic depressive ,at times close to suicidal. . Was he qualified to run the country ?

Psssst, I'm a Republican.

Obama is better qualified than Romney is.

And I'm not ;in fact the only political party I ever registered with was the Democrats in my young and naiive days.

I have to disagree with my good friend Wondergirl. I know she has much more experience with the autism spectrum that I probably ever will, but are these famous people really Aspies?

The medical community is asking whether Asperger's Syndrome is being over-diagnosed.

Is Asperger's Overdiagnosed? | Psychology Today

People who are simply shy or socially clumsy are being diagnosed with Asperger's. This can be devastating to such people.

One reason apparently is that the diagnosis allows for services in many states. In these states, the incidence has gone up dramatically. In California, where such services are not available, the incidence has stayed where it was.

A Google search did not turn up any medical diagnoses of the people mentioned in WG's post - neither do those mentioned themselves claim to have the syndrome.

Certainly, accurate diagnosis of Asperger's is essential, but over-diagnosis is bad diagnosis and does more harm than good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athos

I have to disagree with my good friend Wondergirl.

I beg to differ with my dear friend Athos. Asperger's is NOT a devastating diagnosis. On the contrary, it is a liberating one. It goes beyond shy (not Romney's problem). In fact, Asperger's is in the process of being separated from autism for the very reason that people with Asperger's are high-functioning whereas people who have been diagnosed with autism are too often not able to function well until after they have been provided with various medical and social services, thus the keen attention being given to children who have been diagnosed as autistic. CalTech, MIT, and Silicon Valley are filled with people who have Asperger's, mainly because techie fields greatly appeal to them for various reasons.

Daryl Hannah and Dan Akroyd have been diagnosed; I was careful to mention the others as "possible." Asperger's, rather than being a damnation, is simply a way to give a name to a bunch of behaviors that are considered odd by neurotypicals (the rest of us). In fact, there's probably a bit of Asperger's wiring in many of our brains. I would be fine if my oncologist has Asperger's, but not if my President does.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

I beg to differ with my dear friend Athos. Asperger's is NOT a devastating or diagnosis. On the contrary, it is a liberating one.

WG, I agree with almost all that you wrote. But --- I did NOT say that Asperger's is a devastating diagnosis. What I DID say is that the MIS-diagnosis is devastating (or can be) for those erroneously diagnosed.

Pretty big difference, wouldn't you say?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athos

WG, I agree with almost all that you wrote. But --- I did NOT say that Asperger's is a devastating diagnosis. What I DID say is that the MIS-diagnosis is devastating (or can be) for those erroneously diagnosed.

Pretty big difference, wouldn't you say?

Psychologists and psychiatrists are VERY careful about diagnosing. The client has to show beyond a doubt that he has the syndrome of behaviors. And I have never met a person with Asperger's who was upset by his diagnosis. WHO has been mistakenly diagnosed?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

And I have never met a person with Asperger's who was upset by his diagnosis.

Let me try again. It's hard to believe you're missing my point.

Those who are MIS-DIAGNOSED. Not those who are correctly diagnosed.

If you Google "mis-diagnosis - Asperger's", you will find info re the topic. I only gave one link in a previous post - there are many more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athos

Those who are MIS-DIAGNOSED. Not those who are correctly diagnosed.

And I had asked WHO. If anything, there are thousands, yea, millions of people walking around in the world who have Asperger's. I'm betting it's much more common than we can ever imagine. That's one of the reasons it's being separated out from autism. It has some of the characteristics of autism, but is unique in and of itself.

Why would the diagnosis be devastating?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

And I had asked WHO. If anything, there are thousands, yea, millions of people walking around in the world who have Asperger's. I'm betting it's much more common than we can ever imagine. That's one of the reasons it's being separated out from autism. It has some of the characteristics of autism, but is unique in and of itself.

Why would the diagnosis be devastating?

The MIS-diagnosis is devastating because those so diagnosed are put into a category that they don't belong in.

As to WHO - please check out the googling I advised.

And, by the way, Dan Akroyd and Darryl Hannah were not DIAGNOSED as having Asperberger's. They, rather off-handedly in an interview, brought it up as a possibility, probably because of its present prominence. Being shy (Hannah) is hardly a reason for the syndrome.

Your "betting" it's so common ("millions") is not evidence. That kind of unsupported statement really doesn't do much good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athos

The MIS-diagnosis is devastating because those so diagnosed are put into a category that they don't belong in.

Misdiagnosis of Asperger's is very rare. The syndrome is unique. Of autism, not so much, since the spectrum is so huge. If there's misdiagnosis of either, it's easy enough to prove the diagnostician wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Misdiagnosis of Asperger's is very rare.

Not so rare, if we are to believe the original link from Psychology Today.

As previously noted, the articles note that "shyness" and "social clumsiness" are often diagnosed as Asperger's - possibly because public money is available for treatment.

My only point is that spreading the diagnosis way beyond the reality only hurts those who truly have the syndrome by diluting the possible help available.

Romney is the way he is because he has mega bucks, and he makes sure he has them in a safe place. He grew up that way. Not a knock, just an observation.

That's closer to the truth than trying to attach an undiagnosed handicap on him and then saying it disqualifies him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athos

As previously noted, the articles note that "shyness" and "social clumsiness" are often diagnosed as Asperger's - possibly because public money is available for treatment.

That is so wrong on so many levels. The doctors doing that are unethical. Asperger's is a syndrome, a collection of characteristics, not just shyness or social clumsiness. I know lots of people who are shy or socially clumsy, But they don't have Asperger's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athos

My only point is that spreading the diagnosis way beyond the reality only hurts those who truly have the syndrome by diluting the possible help available.

Actually, those with Asperger's need or want very little help. They tend to function in and on the edge of society quite well, for the most part. In fact, like the deaf and somewhat like gays, they have become a unique community, supporting each other and agreeing that they are content to be who they are.