Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy: The Dark Side of Charisma

Bill clinton and john f. kennedy are both exceptionally charismatic figures who achieved enormous popularity as presidents. And both have been revealed (one posthumously and one while still in office) as compulsive womanizers who risked their political careers (if not the welfare of the country) in the addictive pursuit of sexual gratification. Should we be shocked to learn that these well-loved leaders—or that Mao Ze-dong, Gandhi, or Martin Luther King—qualify as sexual addicts?

What we have come to know posthumously about the personal conduct of many of history's most extraordinary political leaders suggests that a combination of charismatic personality, a drive to attain power, and sexual compulsivity is a common pattern among heads of state. How might we understand the psychological connection between sexual addiction, charisma, and the quest for power? In his biography of Kennedy, Hersh (1997) described how little Jack was hospitalized with scarlet fever at the age of two and was then sent, by himself, to a sanatorium for three months to recuperate. It was there, Hersh asserted, that “Jack, torn from his parents and left in the care of strangers, demonstrated the first signs of what would be a lifelong ability to attract attention by charming others. He so captivated his nurse that it was reported that she begged to be allowed to stay with him” (p. 14). This is to me a vivid description of the birth of charisma in a personality so compelling that it eventually charmed and captivated people the world over.

We tend to think of charisma as a magical power or gift to win the devotion of others. The charismatic personality gives an appearance of exceptional self-confidence, of strength and authority, which inspires trust, confidence, and adulation in others. But I suggest that