Can you say Manchurian Candidate?
Yes and I have been since well before he got himself elected...<now he would be the Manchurian President>.
Barry struck me as having the perfect profile to be "recruited" at a young age...
1) Parents both held advanced degrees so the chances of an off spring having at least above average IQ were there
2)The mixed race parents were both pretty unstable acting increasing the chances that a "handler" could step in early to begin indoctrination.... Barry writes about "Frank" having a big influence on his early life.. "Frank" was a known communist with connections in the Chicago area IIRC.
I've seen the term "father hunger" used to describe a profile of someone at risk for indoctrination into gangs and cults...
Sure seems like a theory with merit to me...