Psychoanalytic Assessments of Character and Performance
an active-negative, confounds one of the basic characteristics of the type by being
ideologically flexible. Eisenhower is a passive-negative, although Barber ([1972]
1992, 179) admits "this case presents certain difficulties."
- The analysis of consistency does not ask whether, and certainly does not
require that, the feature in question is the sole or primary cause but only whether
it provides support for the original formulation. In Clinton's case, one might
compare the theoretical formulations put forward in High Hopes (Renshon 1996a)
with the president's behavior in the period after the book was published. Such
analysis might take the following form: Is the president's decision to become
involved with a White House intern consistent with the theoretical formulation
of Clinton as a man who dislikes boundaries and chafes under the rules to which
others must ordinarily adhere?