When I appeared on ABC News' Nightline after the second presidential debate, reporter Jake Tapper asked me who was healthier -- Obama or Romney. I gave two responses, one of which was edited out. I first said that criteria for health are different for Presidents because at times they have...

All change involves risk - whether one is a Democrat or Republican. It always does, or else it isn't genuine change. And with risk comes anxiety about the unknown. But most unrecognized is that with change comes loss - loss of the familiar, as well as loss of predictability. What...

In writing Obama on the Couch last fall, I undertook a mission of some urgency: understanding our president. Gail Sheehy wrote on the dust jacket that Obama must know himself better, to face "the brutal, intractable conflicts that would ensue if both sides gave free rein to their hostility."

To...

The published photos of U.S. soldiers holding up body parts of slain Afghan rebels depict acts that will further incite the Arab world against the United States. But they are also evidence of the horrors and tensions of war, of feeling exalted at being alive, of surviving thus far. Even...

President Obama's powerful speech on the budget alternated between urging members of both parties to work together - citing bipartisan support for the principles and programs he outlined - and making it clear that he recognized that some Republicans will block any proposal he makes - even those they...

What a father does in times of crisis is often determined by how that man was mothered. And comparing Bush and Obama's responses to the late-summer hurricanes Katrina and Irene reveals much about each man: their responses couldn't be more different.

Obama anticipated the potential devastation Irene could cause...

On the eve of the final presidential debate for 2008, the question about who John McCain "really" is needs to be addressed carefully and clearly.

Since the financial crisis, McCain has called himself a regulator who seeks to eliminate earmarks and to regulate Wall Street in other ways.

But for...

Many people are afraid and don't know it - they are afraid of having a black man in the White House, a black family as the first family. It is hard to estimate their level - conscious or unconscious - and degree - racist or cultural - of discomfort, but...

John McCain lurches from plan to plan, from statement to statement, from action to action. His behavior reminds me of my most manic patients when I was chief of the psychiatric in-patient ward.

Manic patients, now called bi-polar, are unable to manage their feelings, and their behavior is often...

The Republican Party is still crazy after all these years. They brought in Alan Keyes to run against Obama in 2004; and now they've chosen Sarah Palin to accomplish what Keyes couldn't. The Republican Party can't find anyone normal to run against that black guy with the Muslim...

This just went up on YouTube.
Worth a visit, for sure.

Since Governor Sarah Palin arrived on the national stage, people have been comparing her to others. Some say Dan Quayle (who actually DID become Vice-President). Some say Tina Fey. Some say watching her is like watching a "chick flick". Some say she proves McCain has faulty judgment. Some say -...

What follows is the last post for the interactive book, Politics on the Couch. It is inspired by John McCain's VP choice. Readers' comments are welcome and an integral part of this experiment.

This book is about to be "put to bed," but one last post seems fitting -- a...

The New Yorker cover is not only evidence of arrogance; it expresses contempt for people who actually do fear the Obamas. This kind of mocking ridicule will only make it more difficult for people to share their fears and what to them are legitimate concerns. By satirizing most all...

What follows is the eighth post for the interactive book, Politics on the Couch. Readers' comments are welcome and an integral part of this experiment.

POC: Opposites Detract - Listening to the Unsaid

One aim of this project is to help us all -- myself included -- pay attention...

What follows is the seventh post for the interactive book, Politics on the Couch. Readers' comments are welcome and an integral part of this experiment.

July 4th 2008 -- It's the truth that set us free

As we celebrate Independence Day, we acknowledge that the only way to become truly...

What follows is the sixth post for the interactive book, Politics on the Couch. Readers' comments are welcome and an integral part of this experiment.

POLITICS ON THE COUCH: Hating the Haters

"No snowflake in an avalanche ever felt responsible."
- Voltaire

Large groups are more...

What follows is the fifth section of my new book, Politics on the Couch. Because we live in an interactive world and this election is an interactive process, I am conducting a new experiment - posting sections of the manuscript twice weekly on my blog at HuffingtonPost.com and inviting readers'...

What follows is the fourth section of my new book, Politics on the Couch. Because we live in an interactive world and this election is an interactive process, I am conducting a new experiment - posting sections of the manuscript twice weekly on my blog at HuffingtonPost.com and inviting readers'...

What follows is the third section of my new book, Politics on the Couch. Because we live in an interactive world and this election is an interactive process, I am conducting a new experiment - posting sections of the manuscript twice weekly on my blog at HuffingtonPost.com and inviting...