Charles Hugh Smith – I don’t think it’s coincidence that Bill Clinton’s presidency and Christopher Lasch’s landmark analysis The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations both date from the same year, 1993.

Clinton solidified the modern presidency’s narcissistic obsession with public approval (the political equivalent of “likes” on Facebook) and the exploitation of that popularity for maximum self-enrichment.

The relentless charm offensive and rapacious exploitation of Billary’s proximity to power has yielded a fortune once reserved for tech titans and hedge fund superstars:

Hillary And Bill Clinton Report $139.1 Million In Taxable Income Since 2007

This sum doesn’t include the tens of millions vacuumed up by the Clinton foundation machine, which distributes tribute to further the interests of the Clinton dynasty under the convenient guise of charity.

This is not to single the Clintons out as bad eggs in an exemplary system; it is to identify them as the stars of a thoroughly corrupt system. The Clintons did not make the political system; they have simply proven themselves the most adept at milking it for fame and fortune.

If the system encourages raking in millions, why not rake in millions? You’d be crazy not to. If we could skim $250,000 for a short speech on the travails of ageing Lotharios (or whatever else we wanted to blather on about), would we turn it down?

In this system, sincerity is what you spray-paint on whatever position that polls identify as popular. Hillary is especially adept at changing her accent to align with what her machine has identified as the dominant class in the audience of the moment.

Presidents in the culture of narcissism are caretakers, not leaders. When bank profits are at risk, the president OKs deregulation or bailouts to insure bank profits are unfettered by capitalism. Continue reading →