The New York Times published an article titled ‘Just Manic Enough: Seeking Perfect Entrepreneurs’ on Saturday. The article pinpointed the idiosyncrasies of seemingly controlled hypomania and the positive attributes a business-minded individual could possess. Symptoms included unending energy, sleepless nights, racing thoughts, taking risks, grandiosity and an expansive mood. To many, these symptoms may seem like a nightmare; but to those in the business world, they are a gift. The ability to get work done without feeling tired is something people could only dream of. I continued researching topics on the matter and came across the United States presidency — obviously not by chance.

One of the most renowned presidents during our generation is former President Bill Clinton. He had the uncanny ability to campaign for days without rest, maintained a consecutive term in office and restructured United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world, among countless other feats that placed the U.S. in what many have called its last peacetime.

We all know America is a multinational business, so its chief executive has to be a little hypomanic to keep from cracking. I compared the Clinton administration with Obama’s, and the results weren’t very surprising.

Obama shares many of Clinton’s qualities, and even Clinton has praised Obama on many issues. The current administration has, thus far, created a new system for health care, began the closing of Guantanamo Bay, stabilized the financial system — the list is nearly endless. For a president to have done so much in the first half of his term, one has to wonder how the man sleeps at night, or if he sleeps at all. Every president has had some type of mental or physical ailment, so nothing truly rules Obama out of any category.

I could question Obama’s mental state all day, but even if he did have a mood disorder, it does not make him free from error. As mentioned earlier, one of the symptoms of hypomania is taking risks. This does not mean an individual is appropriately assessing the risk being taken. Clinton made a consequential mistake when he compelled poor countries to buy U.S. agricultural products at subsidized prices. Clinton’s decision destroyed many developing nations’ abilities to produce local crops, which in turn kept those nations in the ‘developing’ status.

If Obama’s mental state is anything reminiscent of Clinton’s, decisions need to be made immediately on how to curtail any legislation backlashes that may occur in the future. The current administration has already spent more money than President George W. Bush could ever hope to get his little hands on. Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern news network, published an article on Sept. 20, stating the money spent so far was ‘enough money to cure most of America’s economic and social woes, not to mention much of the world as well.’ When a competing network cries foul for financial matters in a time of war, one probably should start balancing his or her checkbook.

I’m not saying what Obama is doing is wrong, but I am saying the guy needs to be watched, just like every other politician. Obama has too many big plans for this nation, especially during a time when stability is so important. A sane person would never imagine doing anything besides dig this country out of the hole Bush dug us in, while working to recreate a sense of security for the American population. I just hope Obama doesn’t sleep with his intern.

John Sumpter is a senior political science major. His column appears weekly, and he can be reached at jsumpte@syr.edu.

Published on September 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm