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[ENFJ] enfj presidents?

fireandwater

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enfp
Typelogic lists Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama as ENFJs whereas others say there's never been an NF president. I was wondering what your opinions are about these men and their types.
 

nomadic

mountain surfing
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Barack Obama is an ENFP.

Some people would think he is an ENFJ because of his "clever" political maneuvers such as Hillary Clinton's appointment to Secretary of State. However, this isn't a "clever" maneuver, it is what is known in Hawaii as Oh-oponopono.

Oh-oponopono is the part of Hawaiian culture that emphasizes making things right through discussion and forgiveness. This is very common in the Aloha way of thinking and very relevant when you are talking to former rivals.

Most definitely an ENFP. A lot of what Barack does gets misinterpreted into a more devious motive by those who are not familiar with Hawaiian culture.
 

Jeffster

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Lincoln - INTP
Reagan - ESFP
Obama - INTJ

Probably the closest thing to an ENFJ was Jimmy Carter, but I think he's an ESFJ.
 

INTPness

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Barack Obama is an ENFP.

Some people would think he is an ENFJ because of his "clever" political maneuvers such as Hillary Clinton's appointment to Secretary of State. However, this isn't a "clever" maneuver, it is what is known in Hawaii as Oh-oponopono.

Oh-oponopono is the part of Hawaiian culture that emphasizes making things right through discussion and forgiveness. This is very common in the Aloha way of thinking and very relevant when you are talking to former rivals.

Most definitely an ENFP. A lot of what Barack does gets misinterpreted into a more devious motive by those who are not familiar with Hawaiian culture.

Obama does not lead with Ne. I don't even think I've ever seen an Ne "moment" from him. He shows Te.

ENFP's are highly creative goofballs that don't like to keep a schedule. That's not Obama.
 

highlander

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Lincoln - INTP
Reagan - ESFP
Obama - INTJ

Probably the closest thing to an ENFJ was Jimmy Carter, but I think he's an ESFJ.

Obama can't be an INTJ though.... He's far too much of a communicator. :) My guess has been ENFJ. In comparing him to Clinton, who seems like he was an ENFP, it seems like Obama is less waffling and more decisive.
 

wren

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I've known one person irl who typed as enfp and always thought of her as thinking type, not feeler, so maybe Obama could be enfp. He comes across as being tougher than a feeler but maybe that's enfp fortitude showing? Carter I think is a enfj and Lincoln enf/tp. Based on very in depth research of course. :nerd: not really, haven't made any in depth studies of any of those presidents.

All I know is I do like the thought of having NF dominance leading our country yes yes.
 

highlander

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I've known one person irl who typed as enfp and always thought of her as thinking type, not feeler, so maybe Obama could be enfp. He comes across as being tougher than a feeler but maybe that's enfp fortitude showing? Carter I think is a enfj and Lincoln enf/tp. Based on very in depth research of course. :nerd: not really, haven't made any in depth studies of any of those presidents.

All I know is I do like the thought of having NF dominance leading our country yes yes.

:shock: But I thought ENFJs were inspiring.
 

highlander

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[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IlRVy7oZ58"]"A Really Bummed Out ENFJ?"[/YOUTUBE]
 

fireandwater

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Obama does not lead with Ne. I don't even think I've ever seen an Ne "moment" from him. He shows Te.

ENFP's are highly creative goofballs that don't like to keep a schedule. That's not Obama.

Well, yes, we are creative goofballs, but I personally can come across as very T, as I am a lawschool grad who was raised by an ISTJ lawyer on a mission to convert me to T. My first instinct on Obama was INTJ -- cool, rational, analytical. Still, he has some real NF qualities in his speechifyin' and even if he isn't writing them, the delivery... WOW. So, I could see ENFJ as well. Not sure. Whatever he is, he's very well rounded, I'd say, with strong iNtuition, Feeling and Thinking.

It seems to me that Lincoln was very introverted, from what I've read of him, but maybe NF. INFJ, rather than ENFJ maybe?

Reagan, no idea, no T there though I don't think and no introversion.
Carter could be an NF. He seems pretty idealistic to me.
I wonder if some sites claim there are no NFs simply because an NF would have to develop by balancing those traits in order to make it to the presidency, so their NF is somewhat hidden to those who don't know them well.
 

highlander

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Well, yes, we are creative goofballs, but I personally can come across as very T, as I am a lawschool grad who was raised by an ISTJ lawyer on a mission to convert me to T. My first instinct on Obama was INTJ -- cool, rational, analytical. Still, he has some real NF qualities in his speechifyin' and even if he isn't writing them, the delivery... WOW. So, I could see ENFJ as well. Not sure. Whatever he is, he's very well rounded, I'd say, with strong iNtuition, Feeling and Thinking.

It seems to me that Lincoln was very introverted, from what I've read of him, but maybe NF. INFJ, rather than ENFJ maybe?

Reagan, no idea, no T there though I don't think and no introversion.
Carter could be an NF. He seems pretty idealistic to me.
I wonder if some sites claim there are no NFs simply because an NF would have to develop by balancing those traits in order to make it to the presidency, so their NF is somewhat hidden to those who don't know them well.

Maybe Obama is an ENTJ. It would explain much.

With regards to Carter, I believe he was an ISTJ and Lincoln an INTP.
 

highlander

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Regan - definitely ESP. Not sure about T or F.
 

nomadic

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ENFP's are highly creative goofballs that don't like to keep a schedule. That's not Obama.

not in leadership positions when other people are highly dependent on you. quite a different story when goofing off actually leads to bad results for other people.

i've been student body president of my former graduate students association before. became quite serious when we demonstrated against the school administration for tuition cuts. actually i think a lot of people thought I was too serious, and not joking enough. lol

clearly though, i think you have to look beyond the "vibe" and more at the bigger picture that emerges from Barack's vision and approach to volatile situations to see his true type. decisions such as being the first president in quite some time to "keep it real" is not exactly what someone would calculate as being a low risk strategy.
 

Wonkavision

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RONALD REAGAN an ENFJ??????? :doh: LOL! I just don't see it. :D
He's more like an SP or SJ.

BARACK OBAMA an ENFJ? He seems more like an ENTP to me.

I know people think that BILL CLINTON is ENFP, but I think he's ENFJ.
 

TopherRed

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Ole' Billy goat? Meh-ehe-heh-ehe-heh. I can see that, actually. Only Fe can parse what "sexual relations" actually means. ;)

Regan was an ESTP. Period-dot.

Obama is likely an extremely low key ENTP.
 

highlander

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Interesting. Could you elaborate on that?

The rapid rise to power, the ability to inspire and motivate, the excessive communication. He does seem to be someone with a very strong and innate desire to lead. Having seen interviews, he seems like an E, N, and J to me.
I have not mastered the function ordering aspect of this. I'm sure it is a more reliable way of determining someone's type but I do not know how to do it yet.
 

visaisahero

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I am a HUGE Obama fan and I would LOVE to call him an ENTP... but he isn't. He does not lead with a dominant Ne. (This rules out ENFP, as well).

He shows well developed Te (knowing what needs to be done), Fe (empathizing with the people), Ni (a sort of inexplicable x-factor sense of intuition- i still can't explain this but i can somewhat recognize this when I see it).

Te-Ni would make him a ENTJ; Fe-Ni would make him an ENFJ. INTJ and INFJ are possible arguments for Ni-Te and Ni-Fe respectively, but I personally think he's too comfortable with people to be an introvert- especially when his privacy is intruded, like when all the random paparazzi came around and he bought them ice cream (or was it a burger?).

If you read Audacity of Hope, it reeks of ENFJ idealism- of course, it's possible that the ENFJ role is a persona for Barack Obama the President, not necessarily Barack Obama, the fella. That said, I don't think anybody can ever hope to find out Barack's type as an individual with certainty apart from Barack himself, or his close friends and family etc.

So my vote goes to ENFJ- with a well developed Te, Ne, Si... everything, really. *shrug*
 

highlander

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I am a HUGE Obama fan and I would LOVE to call him an ENTP... but he isn't. He does not lead with a dominant Ne. (This rules out ENFP, as well).

He shows well developed Te (knowing what needs to be done), Fe (empathizing with the people), Ni (a sort of inexplicable x-factor sense of intuition- i still can't explain this but i can somewhat recognize this when I see it).

Te-Ni would make him a ENTJ; Fe-Ni would make him an ENFJ. INTJ and INFJ are possible arguments for Ni-Te and Ni-Fe respectively, but I personally think he's too comfortable with people to be an introvert- especially when his privacy is intruded, like when all the random paparazzi came around and he bought them ice cream (or was it a burger?).

If you read Audacity of Hope, it reeks of ENFJ idealism- of course, it's possible that the ENFJ role is a persona for Barack Obama the President, not necessarily Barack Obama, the fella. That said, I don't think anybody can ever hope to find out Barack's type as an individual with certainty apart from Barack himself, or his close friends and family etc.

So my vote goes to ENFJ- with a well developed Te, Ne, Si... everything, really. *shrug*

Yes, I think ENTJ or ENFJ. Not sure which though.
 

visaisahero

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If you read The Audacity of Hope, he comes across as a really idealistic, "I'm going to try even if it isn't the rational thing to do" sort of Fe-Ni dominant type- which makes ENFJ more likely. This is especially so in the early stages of his career, where he was still relatively unknown.

Of course, a cynical (but plausible) perspective would be that he wrote the book intending to create a persona for himself that people would relate to and rally around- but the simpler answer is that he really is like that, because I haven't really found any evidence to doubt him.

So... he projects an ENFJ persona to the world. If it's genuine, then he's indeed an ENFJ. If it isn't, then I'm thinking he actually might be an INTJ rather than ENTJ, though I cannot rationally explain this. Ni-Te seems more "right" than Te-Ni for a person who manufactures a persona- think Iago from Shakespeare's Othello!
 
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