Are politicians autistic?

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I am often asking myself about politicians: what are they made of? If they are not demented (and in most cases they are not, at least in a technical sense), they lie in 95 % of what they say in public. They of course know that they lie and some of them may also think, machiavellically, that they have to lie to push forward some good cause. The portrait that David Foster Wallace makes (“Lyndon”) of one of the most well known politicians of the 50s and 60s is fascinating. You may side with Lyndon in that portrait. But how much is it a sort of addiction to a cause and how much is it only addiction to power as such, its privileges and inebriation? In my minimalistic enterprises of survival I lied all my life, trying to pretend to be normal, but I am now exhausted. Many of them politicians perhaps are autistic in some way. Probably Hitler and Stalin were autistic. But many of them seem to have families, mates, friends (?): do they bring their lying habits with them in these inner circles, and, if not, how do they shift from lying and nor lying? Are they whole persons or they are all Hydes and Jekills?

They are all selfish NTs. The very thought of lying so much would cause an ASpie to melt down. Sure we lie about trivial, mundane things like enjoying sports so NTs don't think we're complete wackos. But lying about hating an entire race of people ?? Or lying about people being executed en masse ??

Well, does charisma really mesh with autism?

I pay absolutely no heed to politicians I am afraid, or to politics. I find it all boring and always have done, lol, and they just...ack, they annoy me no end. On the occasions I have seen tv coverage of the House Of Lords, all I can think is...a group of overgrown schoolboys bickering.

Politicians are lunatics, aspies are aspies!

No, I'd sat they're more Psychopathic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy

"intraspecies predators who use charm, manipulation, intimidation, and violence to control others and to satisfy their own selfish needs. Lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they cold-bloodedly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret."

I concur!

I've known a great deal of politicians... and they ALWAYS think that they are "working for the greater good". They don't even realize that they are lying when they do.

I think a few of them may be manic depressive as they have delusions of grandeur and paranoia etc. They hog the limelight for a few weeks and then they seem to fall off the radar for a while and then they are back in the limelight.

Most politicians are IDIOTS, and NOT trying to do any good things. Hitler was an IDIOT by all measures. He wasn't even German! He was from austria and apparantly believed, and it apparantly is true, that he was part jewish. He showed real stupidity by doing things like having people hail him, and demanding to approve every move. The allied attempts to crack the germans code would have been frustrated and worthless without those two things. Love him or hate him, you have to admit that hitler was stupid, and did more to win WWII for the allieds than anyone else.

Steve

Hitler I think falls more under the category of psychopath, although there are definately aspects of his personality that strike me as aspie. There's no way we'd be able to manipulate people like that though, even if we wanted to.

Austrians are ethnically German, I believe. And as far as I know the idea that Hiter had a Jewish grandparent is just speculation and no hard evidence has been offered, but maybe there's something I'm not aware of.

BIG difference between autistic and psychopaths, which i suspect is what most politicians are.

No, see, it's like this: Politicians have a Messiah complex and want to save the world, but an Autistic has a Rubik's complex and wants to solve the puzzle. I would say that the ONLY qualifying feature a career politician has in regards to being "autistic" is a hatred of change (of the status quo, that is.) I would diagnose a career politician as a psychopath, along with maybe something addressing their delusions of grandeur and narcissism.