The fact is that sociopaths/psychopaths aren't all serial killers -- though a minority of the population, they're all over the place, and are particularly drawn to positions of power and influence; that is another defining trait they have, the desire to control others, coupled with lack of empathy or shame.

Because of their glib charm and ruthless pursuit of advantage against adversaries (victims is actually the better word), they're often able to rise high (while at the same time leaving devastation in their wake; impulse control is never a strong point with them, which is why substance abuse is so common among sociopaths).

They're well-represented in any industry that richly rewards winners (which is why they're better represented in politics and in the business world, and likely in the entertainment world, too), where "kicking ass" can get you ahead -- money, fame, power, control -- they thirst for those things, will seek what brings it to them, and they don't care how they get it, just so long as it isn't too much work.

I'm reminded of the line on treason: "treason never prospers, because if it does, none dare call it treason." -- the same thing kind of applies to sociopaths in positions of power.

While their misbehavior almost invariably leads to their eventual undoing, while they're riding high, nobody calls them out (certainly not without consequence, if the sociopath becomes aware of it). Because most people aren't sociopaths (sociopaths would likely see them as sheeple), they don't necessarily realize there's a wolf in the fold until it's too late, they try to explain away the behavior, or think "they wouldn't do that, would they?" but the sociopath all too eagerly does just that. And then people get afraid, and either kiss the sociopath's ass, fight them, or flee.

Willing to take risks and uncaring of the outcomes (except inasmuch as those outcomes affect them personally), functional sociopaths are able to rise high (whether through brains or connections), but the damage they leave in passing is substantial.

And at the highest levels, such a person would wreak untold social damage -- things like suppression of habeas corpus, tampering with or subverting popular elections, engaging in disastrous wars of opportunity, abandoning American cities during disasters, creating secret prisons and sanctioning torture, and adopting things like warrantless surveillance -- that kind of thing. Power insulates and protects the wielder of it -- might makes right, which is a sociopathic value if ever there was one.

Is "sociopath" too strong a word for Bush? I don't know. But it's certainly plausible, given his behavior in the past and the present.

I'm so glad there's a sudden surge of Joy Division movie fare lately; they had such a singular aesthetic and sound that remains all their own (Interpol, the Rakes, the Editors, and others certainly dipped a silver cup in their dark waters, but they're pretenders compared to the darkling beauty of Joy Division's own work).

The discordant doom of Ian Curtis's own strangled vocals and lyrics, wrapped in the aggressive electric throb of pulsing bass and staccato, overdriven guitar, with clockwork, if understated percussion holding the beat, and keyboards lurking like sharks in the wake of a sinking ship -- New Order's survivors couldn't hope to match the magic of Joy Division; Curtis was the necromancer who made it all work, the lodestone that bound it together.

While I think the short life of Warsaw and Joy Division (and Curtis, himself) likely only adds to their mystique, limiting the missteps that inevitably afflict bands over time, the body of work they left behind has only become finer with age. I listened to them as a teen, and at 37, it still impresses me, still gives me chills. And black and white? Brilliant touch -- it captures the essence perfectly. I can't wait to see these films.

In my opinion, only Gang of Four (and the Proletariat) managed to convey as much effortless menace in echoing guitar lines as Joy Division did, although those bands' politics were on their lapel pins, while Joy Division's unique aesthetic was on another plane, almost supernatural, ineffable, unfathomable.