Review article
Ethical considerations in psychiatric profiling of political figures

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The dilemma

The dilemma was no more dramatically and absurdly evidenced than during the Persian Gulf crisis. On the basis of a political psychology profile I developed of Saddam Hussein, which was widely featured in the print and electronic media, I was invited to testify before two congressional committees holding hearings on the Gulf crisis—Les Aspin's House Armed Services Committee, and Lee Hanmilton's House Foreign Affairs Committee. Hussein had been widely characterized as “the madman of the Middle

Policy by Poll

As is often the case, bad cases make bad law. During the 1964 presidential election campaign, Fact Magazine [3] surveyed APA members asking whether the republican candidate, Barry Goldwater, was fit for office. The results led to a front-page headline: “1189 Psychiatrists Say Goldwater Is Psychologically Unfit to Be President.” Ralph Ginzburg, editor of the magazine, crowed that “never in history has a political figure been the subject of such an intensive character analysis.” The article was

Concluding observations

In attempting to guard against the excesses of the Goldwater imbroglio, a principle has been enshrined that constrains the ability of serious psychiatrists to contribute to public discourse and to society. I would argue that the time is long overdue to revisit the principle, perhaps abandoning it entirely or, as Lazarus suggested, to relegate the discussion of issues and concerns to the commentary section of the code of ethics.

To address the hazards of injudicious opinions by psychiatrists and

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References (8)

  • American Psychiatric Association

    The Principles of medical ethics with annotations especially applicable to psychiatry

    (2001)
  • The New York Times. Daniel Goleman “Experts Differ on Dissecting Leaders' Psyches From Afar”: NYT, p. C1,9, January 29,...
  • Fact Magazine. 1,189 Psychiatrists Say Goldwater is Psychologically Unfit to be President! Volume One, Issue Five....
  • S. Freud et al.

    Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychoanalytical Study

    (1967)
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