excerpt -THE WEEK

WHEN Children Act this way, we say they're simply acting like children. But when adults behave with this same paradoxal mixture of self-importance and insecurity, we call it something else: narcissism. By definition, narcissists are impatient, vain-glorious, easily insulted, and aggrieved; they'd never dream of making sacrifices on anyone else's behalf, unless it simultaneously advanced on an agenda of their own. But the fact is, everyone is capable of narcissism in times of crisis. It's a very typical response to feeling out of control--especially if you've had plenty of control before (or at least the illusion of it), and especially if you still have some means to express your dissatisfaction. And control has been a defining theme of this election cycle. With record unemployment and foreclosure rates, everyone across the system is feeling deeply disempowered.
Just as in 2008, says New York Jennifer Senior, voters have embraced magical thinking and fairy tales :)