Exploring the connection between personal trauma and political success has been an obsession of mine since I first entered politics 20 years ago. The Four Ds I call them, the four types of people who run for office: damaged, desperate, disenfranchised and duty-bound. The desperate candidates all seem to regard politics as a vehicle for achieving instant respect – a reasonable assumption, I guess. Like President Reagan, their fathers drank or were abusive like President Clinton’s, or emotionally unavailable like President Wilson’s. It helps me to understand a candidate’s politics and to predict their needs and behaviour.

Source: The Star March 06, 2021 23:48 UTC