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Barack & Michelle Obama's Type

What type is Obama

  • ENFJ

    Votes: 22 31.0%
  • ENTJ

    Votes: 7 9.9%
  • ENFP

    Votes: 7 9.9%
  • ENTP

    Votes: 14 19.7%
  • INFJ

    Votes: 7 9.9%
  • INTJ

    Votes: 5 7.0%
  • INFP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • INTP

    Votes: 3 4.2%
  • ESFJ

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • ESTJ

    Votes: 2 2.8%
  • ESFP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ESTP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ISFJ

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • ISTJ

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • ISFP

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ISTP

    Votes: 1 1.4%

  • Total voters
    71

01011010

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View attachment 3043

On May 26, 1996, Mariana Cook visited Barack and Michelle Obama in Hyde Park as part of a photography project on couples in America. What follows is excerpted from her interviews with them.


MICHELLE OBAMA: There is a strong possibility that Barack will pursue a political career, although it’s unclear. There is a little tension with that. I’m very wary of politics. I think he’s too much of a good guy for the kind of brutality, the skepticism.

When you are involved in politics, your life is an open book, and people can come in who don’t necessarily have good intent. I’m pretty private, and like to surround myself with people that I trust and love. In politics you’ve got to open yourself to a lot of different people. There is a possibility that our futures will go that way, even though I want to have kids and travel, spend time with family, and like spending time with friends. But we are going to be busy people doing lots of stuff. And it’ll be interesting to see what life has to offer. In many ways, we are here for the ride, just sort of seeing what opportunities open themselves up. And the more you experiment the easier it is to do different things. If I had stayed in a law firm and made partner, my life would be completely different. I wouldn’t know the people I know, and I would be more risk-averse. Barack has helped me loosen up and feel comfortable with taking risks, not doing things the traditional way and sort of testing it out, because that is how he grew up. I’m more traditional; he’s the one in the couple that, I think, is the less traditional individual. You can probably tell from the photographs—he’s just more out there, more flamboyant. I’m more, like, “Well, let’s wait and see. What did that look like? How much does it weigh?”

BARACK OBAMA: All my life, I have been stitching together a family, through stories or memories or friends or ideas. Michelle has had a very different background—very stable, two-parent family, mother at home, brother and dog, living in the same house all their lives. We represent two strands of family life in this country—the strand that is very stable and solid, and then the strand that is breaking out of the constraints of traditional families, travelling, separated, mobile. I think there was that strand in me of imagining what it would be like to have a stable, solid, secure family life.

Michelle is a tremendously strong person, and has a very strong sense of herself and who she is and where she comes from. But I also think in her eyes you can see a trace of vulnerability that most people don’t know, because when she’s walking through the world she is this tall, beautiful, confident woman. There is a part of her that is vulnerable and young and sometimes frightened, and I think seeing both of those things is what attracted me to her. And then what sustains our relationship is I’m extremely happy with her, and part of it has to do with the fact that she is at once completely familiar to me, so that I can be myself and she knows me very well and I trust her completely, but at the same time she is also a complete mystery to me in some ways. And there are times when we are lying in bed and I look over and sort of have a start. Because I realize here is this other person who is separate and different and has different memories and backgrounds and thoughts and feelings. It’s that tension between familiarity and mystery that makes for something strong, because, even as you build a life of trust and comfort and mutual support, you retain some sense of surprise or wonder about the other person.

Portfolio by Mariana Cook: A Couple in Chicago: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Michelle: ISTJ
Obama: ENTP?


The Visionary makes sense. On the other hand, he's been crafting his public image for years. He released his book, "Dreams From My Father", published in 1995 and republished in 2004. "The Audacity Of Hope", in 2006. Why would a man in his 30's that had yet to accomplish anything of significance, need an autobiography? That reeks of long term J strategy. It's no coincidence the article above was also done in 1996, and Michelle alluded to political aspirations.

What I also found interesting, is that I was under the impression Obama's change campaign was a gimmick. I perceived him as being conservative, but using a more liberal stance to pander to the masses. When in actuality, he belonged to a church that has been pro-gay marriage for years. When he ran for senate in 1996, he fully supported gay marriage. So, he's actually very liberal, but kept it on the down low in his bid for presidency to further his political ambitions. Most recently, he stated "Don't ask, Don't tell", will be repealed without a doubt.

Would an ENFJ be capable of the shrewd and calculating strategy, Obama has employed steadily for 15 years? This man is far too pragmatic to be Fe dom. The cult like fervor that developed seems to be more of a projection in desperate times. People see what they want to see. It does appear as if it was a conscious strategy used to win. Yet, ENFJ seems more like a mask. His thought process seems to denote Ne/Ti.

Obama is not a traditionalist, and he isn't afraid to shake things up. He thinks old methods are faulty, and progressive innovation is the only applicable option. He isn't good at making decisions right away. He likes to collect all data first, and consider possible scenarios. He consults and trusts people of real merit, not those merely touted as exceptional. His choice in treasury is a great example. Inauguration speech, he mentioned there are those that want to remain conservative in the methods implemented for improvement. He then stated America could handle changes of large scale. He basically announced he didn't care what they thought. He's rational enough to accept ideas from anyone regardless of affiliation, as long as they are solid. He's a very abstract thinker that sees the potential in ideas and people.

All in all, I see mostly Ne, Ti, and Fe.
 

mippus

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A silly question maybe, but why is it so obvious that he is an extravert?
 
D

Dali

Guest
There seems to be a consensus of sorts on Barack's type with most believing him to be ENFJ.

As for Michelle, I was just about to post on here to see what type others thought she was. I believed her to be ESTJ but after watching her on The View and reading the interview you posted, I shall revise that to ISTJ.
 

JocktheMotie

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I'd go ENTJ, just because he's been planning this rise and his progress into politics for years. Everything he does is a calculated move, from his early biographies to his ambiguous senate voting record.
 

01011010

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There seems to be a consensus of sorts on Barack's type with most believing him to be ENFJ.

As for Michelle, I was just about to post on here to see what type others thought she was. I believed her to be ESTJ but after watching her on The View and reading the interview you posted, I shall revise that to ISTJ.

You really think his fourth function is Ti? I can't buy into that. His thinking function would most likely be first or second, not fourth. He's far too strategic and logical to be Fe dom. It's true he has advisers now, but he's planned his own political rise the last 15 years. Based on the recent political campaign, that was directed by other people, doesn't make the cult following data solid. It could easily be a mask. It's best to look at who he's been the majority of his life.


I'd go ENTJ, just because he's been planning this rise and his progress into politics for years. Everything he does is a calculated move, from his early biographies to his ambiguous senate voting record.

He uses a mass amount of Ne. His book, "Dreams From My Father", is very indicative of Ne supported by Fe.
 

JocktheMotie

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A very devoted, driven, and balanced ENTP then. Still doesn't seem gregarious enough or aloof enough for the P, although he could be hiding it.
 

01011010

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A very devoted, driven, and balanced ENTP then. Still doesn't seem gregarious enough or aloof enough for the P, although he could be hiding it.

Honestly, it doesn't add up. The functions I see do indicate ENTP, but his long term behavior is dictionary definition J.
 

JocktheMotie

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Honestly, it doesn't add up. The functions I see do indicate ENTP, but his long term behavior is dictionary definition J.

In cases of Functions conflicting with observed behavior, I usually take observed behavior, because both systems run into function issues in some individuals. Plus politicians are just plain hard to read.
 

NewEra

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Yeah, based on what I've seen, Michelle seems like an IS_J, most likely ISTJ because of the authority.

Obama is definitely an ENT_. I'm split as to what he is with that last letter.

E - He's extraverted, there's no question he is a people-person. I've heard him being called too charismatic. He likes to spend time and talk with people.

N - Definitely an inuitive person, based on his visions for the country, and the way his mind works. He is more of a creative and imaginative person, and looks at the big picture. (Plus he's lefty which makes him seem even more N).

T - He makes decisions based on thought, he doesn't put feelings into the equation at all. He is very frank and breaks down issues the way they are, he doesn't aim to please. He's definitely a thinker.

P/J - He does plan things out in advance for the nation and he's a no-nonsense type of guy(J), but at the same time he is a very laid back individual who seems to have fun with what he's doing (P).
 

dynamiteninja

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ENTP. He's very adaptable in his decision making process. He employs a wide spectrum of people from the left and right.
 

Speed Gavroche

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The messianic cult around Obama make me feel him as an archetype of ENFJ guru, Michelle is his ISTJ dual.
 

Lauren Ashley

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A silly question maybe, but why is it so obvious that he is an extravert?

This is the question I was going to ask. In Dreams From My Father he comes off as an introvert, especially when he was younger and living in Hawaii.
 

entropie

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YES WE CAN !!!

big-heart1-m.gif
 

Apollanaut

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I agree that Barack Obama is an ENTP. You get this sense of contained energy from him, like it's taking all his discipline to present the sober image required of a US President but what he really wants to do is run around and really throw himself into the job wholeheartedly.

The ENTP configuration also explains his charm and charisma. ENTP types have Fe as their tertiary function and may use it a lot to in service of their dominant intuition: to basically "win friends and influence people". They can be very charismatic and persuasive when using this function, with a certain boyish (or girlish) charm.

Obama is particularly adept at oratory, I'd guess that he has worked very hard to develop his Feeling function in an attempt to balance the cooler, more remote attitude of his Auxiliary Ti. This is why he appears ENFJ-like to so many people.

IMHO, Obama's innate type, and his seemingly high level of personal development, makes him uniquely qualified for the difficult tasks ahead of him.

As for Michelle, that interview was revealing, but not nearly enough to accurately guess her complete type. The I and J are pretty obvious, but the other two letters are open for debate. I'm currently torn between ISFJ, INFJ and ISTJ.
 

entropie

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An ENTP becoming president ? :D

Really... thats hilarious.

I can hardly type him, I think he leans in the direction of ENFJ because I have got no experience with that people.
 

ajblaise

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People who think Obama is an F seem to be confusing idealist political beliefs with idealist personality. I don't think I've ever seen Obama do something that wasn't calm and calculated, he's a T to a T.

Desperado is an ENFJ, Obama's not.
 

NewEra

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People who think Obama is an F seem to be confusing idealist political beliefs with idealist personality. I don't think I've ever seen Obama do something that wasn't calm and calculated, he's a T to a T.

Yeah, exactly. Obama's an ENTP.
 

entropie

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People who think Obama is an F seem to be confusing idealist political beliefs with idealist personality. I don't think I've ever seen Obama do something that wasn't calm and calculated, he's a T to a T.

Desperado is an ENFJ, Obama's not.

With people I think you include me and I think he is no T because he is too good. Ts are honest with themselves and you ajblaise are a flaming example for this. Obama is no entp because entp break down with too much attention. Just trust me on that one. I dont know if he is ENFJ, but he is definitly a F. They are the only ones who are truly able to get that much fans.

Try to look at it vice versa. What type was McCain ? a F ?
 

Lauren Ashley

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E - He's extraverted, there's no question he is a people-person. I've heard him being called too charismatic. He likes to spend time and talk with people.

T - He makes decisions based on thought, he doesn't put feelings into the equation at all. He is very frank and breaks down issues the way they are, he doesn't aim to please. He's definitely a thinker.

I like to spend time and talk with people, in fact that is what I do a lot of the time I'm offline if I'm not working. But I'm definitely an introvert.

I wouldn't be so quick to label him T based on those reasons alone. We have no idea what is going on in his head and what he bases his decisions on. Not saying he is NF because I have doubts on that, but in a role like his one would need to at least appear to be logical.

Edit: I think he is close to the E/I and J/P lines, with preference for I and P.

As for him being ENTP, if he is, he is unlike any other I've known. I know many ENTPs personally and one attribute of theirs is a remarkable inability to understand how others view them. Obama is very understanding of his image and how people see him, and has been his whole life according to his autobiography.
 

swordpath

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Obama is a lot like one of my best friends (even with the mixed race thing) and he knows it lol. My friend idolizes Obama. My friend tested ENTJ but I believe him to be ENFJ.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.
 
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