A great deal of psychological data can be gleaned from outside observation, so it would not be wise for top political figure like President Putin, President Bush, Condi Rise, or Henry Kissinger, for example, to play chess in public, where they could be observed by potential political foes. Psychologists, and other think-tank types, can learn things like whether the individual prefers playing offense or defense, the degree of risk the individual is willing to take, the individual's aggression level, how easily the individual can be made to modify his strategy when confronted with a threat, how patient the individual is in laying out his plans, and even IQ, just from watching a person play a few games of chess.

Psychological information gather covertly could allow a foe to get inside the brain of his adversary in ways that might prove very helpful in times of war or when negotiating peace treaties, etc.

Regards,

LelandJ

>This is a really a psychological profile of President Bush? While I don't have any degrees in psychology, I would have thought it would be necessary to spend some time with the subject in order to complete a psychological profile. Am I incorrect?
>
>>As promised a psychological profile of bush. Kind of explains everything. And at the sametime makes everyone I know who read this wish they could move the clock ahead a couple years so we can get past this:
>>
>>
>>Bush and the Psychology of Incompetent Decisions
>> By John P. Briggs, MD, and J.P. Briggs II, PhD
>> t r u t h o u t | Guest Contributors
>>
>> Thursday 18 January 2007
>>
>> President George W. Bush prides himself on "making tough decisions." But
>>many are sensing something seriously troubling, even psychologically
>>unbalanced, about the president as a decision-maker. They are right.
>>
>> Because of a psychological dynamic swirling around deeply hidden feelings
>>of inadequacy, the president has been driven to make increasingly incompetent
>>and risky decisions. This dynamic makes the psychological stakes for him now
>>unimaginably high. The words "success" and "failure" have seized his rhetoric
>>like metaphors for his psyche's survival.
>>
>> The president's swirling dynamic lies "hidden in plain sight" in his
>>personal history. From the time he was a boy until his religious awakening in
>>his early 40s, Bush had every reason to feel he was a failure. His continued,
>>almost obsessive, attempts through the years to emulate his father, obtain his
>>approval, and escape from his influence are extensively recorded.
>>
>> His biography is peppered with remarks and behavior that allude to this
>>inner struggle. In an exuberant moment during his second campaign for Texas
>>governor, Bush told a reporter, "It's hard to believe, but ... I don't have
>>time to worry about being George Bush's son. Maybe it's a result of being
>>confident. I'm not sure how the psychoanalysts will analyze it, but I'm not
>>worried about it. I'm really not. I'm a free guy."
>>
>> A psychoanalyst would note that he is revealing here that he has been
>>worrying about being his father's son quite a lot.
>>
>> Resentment naturally contaminated Bush's efforts to prove himself to his
>>father and receive his father's approval. The contradictory mix showed up in
>>his compulsion to re-fight his father's war against Iraq, but this time
>>winning the duel some thought his father failed to win with Saddam. He could
>>at once emulate his father, show his contempt for him, and redeem him. But
>>beneath this son-father struggle lies a far more significant issue for Bush -
>>a question about his own competence, adequacy and autonomy as a human being.
>>
>> We have seen this inner question surface repeatedly, and we have largely
>>conspired with him to deny it.
>>
>>On September 11, 2001, we saw (and suppressed) the image of him sitting
>>stunned for seven minutes in a crowd of school children after learning that
>>the second plane had hit the Twin Towers, and then the lack of image of him
>>when he vanished from public view for the rest of the day. Instead, we bought
>>the cover-up image, three days after the attack, of the strong leader,
>>grabbing the bullhorn in New York City and issuing bellicose statements.
>>In 2004, we saw and denied the insecurity displayed when the president refused
>>to face the 9/11 Commission alone and needed Vice President Cheney to go with
>>him.
>>In 2003, we saw and suppressed the dark side of the "Mission Accomplished"
>>aircraft carrier landing, in which a man who had ducked out on his
>>generation's war and dribbled away his service in the Texas Air National Guard
>>dressed up like Top Gun and pretended that he was a combat pilot like his
>>father.
>>Asked by a reporter if he would accept responsibility for any mistakes, Bush
>>answered, "I hope I don't want to sound like I've made no mistakes. I'm
>>confident I have. I just haven't - you just put me under the spot here, and
>>maybe I'm not quick - as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with
>>one." What we heard, and yet didn't hear, was a confession of his feelings of
>>inadequacy and an arrogant denial those feelings all at once.
>>In early 2006, when his father moved behind the scenes to replace Secretary of
>>Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the son responded, "I'm the decider and I decide
>>what's best" - and when he clenched his fist at a question about his father's
>>influence, proclaiming, "I'm the Commander in Chief" - we glimpsed what was
>>going on.
>> To cover up and defend himself against his feelings of his inadequacy and
>>incompetence, Bush developed a number of psychological defenses. In his school
>>years he played the clown. (His ability to joke about his verbal slip-ups is
>>an endearing adult application of this defense to public life.) His heavy
>>drinking was a classic way to anesthetize feelings of inadequacy. Indeed,
>>drinking typically makes the alcoholic grandiose, which has led some
>>commentators to argue that Bush has the "dry drunk" syndrome, where the
>>individual has stopped drinking but retains the brittle psychology of the
>>alcoholic. Other defenses now play especially powerful roles to protect the
>>president against his internal feelings of insufficiency.