This speech to the Muslim world was a good example. On the same trip he provided another good example when he declared his visit to Buchenwald “personal” because of the stories his great uncle told him about liberating a concentration camp. I can’t think of a more inappropriate place in which to inject yourself into the storyline with some sort of special moral claim. But for Obama, he simply can’t help it. Rather than solemnly mark the visit with humility and a sober appreciation for man’s capacity for evil, the occasion still must somehow tie back into his personal story, as if all history has led up to his ascendancy.

I find the comparisons to Lincoln particularly demonstrative, not because of any major similarity between the men, but because it illustrates his narcissism so clearly. Take a Lincoln speech and count the personal references. Then take an Obama speech and count the personal references.

To a certain extent it’s hard to blame Obama. He is an extremely intelligent man, a great speaker, and it appears to be a good judge of character. If you look at his career path, he’s seen only success, and he’s become the most powerful person in the world with hardly a hitch. He’s quickly amassed vast new powers for himself as President, and there are millions that share and feed the belief that he is a unique historical figure with the power to radically change the world for better.

And he probably is a unique historical figure who will radically change his country, and through it, the world. The only problem is that because of the combination of his intelligence, elite education, and his race, he’s also faced few significant challenges in his rise. So he is a man who doesn’t realize he can fall, and who also sees himself as the solution to all the world’s problems. And that is why I think his presidency is potentially the most disastrous development in American history.