Monday, December 6, 2010

No Drama Obama

No Drama Obama:

Barak Obama’s behavior as a politician has been the subject of much analysis in the USA and abroad. By the time he was elected president of the US he was known in
some circles as "No Drama Obama" This is because of the remarkably low level of melodramatic behavior in his political activities.

This could be of interest to emlit theory. There is an intriguing
relationship between Obama's "no drama” attitude and transactional analysis'
familiar concept of the Drama Triangle. (Karpman) in which people switch between three classic game roles (Rescuer, Persecutor, Victim) in their daily lives, at work, in politics whenever and wherever they interact with others.

Observation of Obama's behavior repeatedly confirms that he resists
Persecution or Victim behavior even when persistently urged by his
followers or the news media. No drama reveals a reluctance to get hooked into games and that he prefers and is able to stay in his Adult ego state.

This probably was a decisive factor in his election as it gave him an aura of
maturity and competence needed to persuade independent voters.

After two years of systematic attack from the Right (that he is a Muslim, not born in the US, a socialist, a fascist, ruining the country, etc.) it seems that he has lost the wide support that he once enjoyed. Yet his no drama approach continues.

One of the critiques is that he is too rational, (too Adult) too
unemotional. He is being urged by his supporters to get in the ring and fight. In other
words he is being encouraged to get out of the Adult and into the Rescue
Triangle, as a way to show that he is capable of emotions. So far he has not done so and continues to pursue his agenda with a cool Adult approach.

Question: Will this work? Is it necessary in order to be emotionally competent to express
strong emotions in difficult situations? Is Obama emotionally literate or emotionally illiterate?

Claude Steiner

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