• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

What is Barack Obama's type?

What type is Barack Obama?


  • Total voters
    31

Xander

Lex Parsimoniae
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
4,463
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9w8
A fatal assumption is to think that the presidents type will affect what happens that much. I know an ENTP in politics and he doesn't rock the boat at all. The ENFJ I know hardly speaks up in formal arenas.

Type is not everything.
 

NewEra

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
3,104
MBTI Type
I
He's ENTP.

Why does everyone think ENFJ? Can someone explain this choice?
 

simulatedworld

Freshman Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
Messages
5,552
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
He's ENTP.

Why does everyone think ENFJ? Can someone explain this choice?


Because he's really good at faking that benevolent pedagogue charisma thing.

I do think he's ENFP, though. I agree with Ne dom but I'm not sure where you're getting Ti from.
 

proteanmix

Plumage and Moult
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
5,514
Enneagram
1w2
I wrote this a while ago about Obama. I'm still collecting as much insight into how Obama acts prviately and personally and not as a president.

I don't doubt Obama is a Fe user, I think he's either an ENFJ or an ENTP (not an ENFP at all). But I continually see more Fe/Se from him than Ne/Fe. Over the last year or so I've tried to get as much personal information about his personality as possible and it keeps striking me as Fe first. Even at his inauguration when I was standing out in the crowd they were playing his iPod playlist over the speakers and it was a bunch of pop music standard (Madonna, Beyonce, Santana's newest stuff) something you'd hear on your local top 40 radio.

The way he's chosen to reach out, his weekly web addresses, the special People's Inaugural Ball where us regular folks had a chance to get, how much he's trying to connect locally with the mayor of DC. I don't see an ENTP being the focused on fostering personal connections with people. He even uses "we" and "our" so much that it's crazy! He's incredibly thoughtful towards how his message is taken and prefers to lead through consensus. Even look at how less than 10 days in office the first interview he has is with al Jazzera telling the Muslim world that "we are not your enemy." Do ENTPs do this much reaching out naturally? I just don't see them doing that.

Even if he was an ENTP, he'd seem more similar in nature to Pres. Bill Clinton because they'd both be Ne-dominants. Obama is more measured and purposeful in how he presents himself. He has a very camera ready appearance which kind of belies the EP desire to wing it a bit.

To some extent a new president has to have the whole new ideas and change mantra going on. Especially after eight years of Bush. But I'm thinking just because people hear the words "Change" and "Ideas" they automatically think ENxP.

Check these out:
PostPartisan - Obama Cozies Up to Congress

Obama, Reaching Outside the Bubble - washingtonpost.com
Obama has made a habit of sitting alone behind his desk and reading one letter at a time, friends and advisers said. The exercise is intended to help keep him grounded, but it also provides Obama with a glimpse beyond the White House walls and the Secret Service perimeter into what the president sometimes refers to as "the real world."

He also seems like a very hands-on president, even by the way he ran his campaign. Those are very Fe-Se habits, wanting to keep your hear to the ground and continue to be in touch with the REALITIES of what's effecting people. He seems more willing to get into detail work than I'd think an ENTP would. An ENTP would typically work out the mechanics of what they want to do first (and by themselves) then present it after they feel like it's at least complete.

He wants to get to know the politicians he works with on Capital Hill in a way no president has done before him. Even on Superbowl Sunday he through a party at the White House and invited key congressmen and senators. It's just so much Fe!

Younger staff members said Obama likes to be kept up on their gossip about weekend nights and new girlfriends and feels left out anytime he's the last to know what's going on in their lives. On Super Bowl Sunday, he invited a few dozen people to the White House for a party and implemented two rules: no talking about politics and no posed pictures. Instead, Obama instructed a personal photographer to follow him during the party and take candid shots of him chatting with his guests, which would be mailed to them later. Obama explained to a few congressmen in attendance that he wanted to feel like a part of the group, not apart from it.

How much more Fe do you need to be to actually be a Fe-dominant!? It's too much persistent and nuanced social strategy for him to be ENTP. ENTPs flub after awhile because it's hard to maintain being that deep into Fe for an extended amount of time.
 

simulatedworld

Freshman Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
Messages
5,552
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
^ I thought he was ENFJ too until he made that comment about the special olympics on Jay Leno. That seems like Ne off-the-cuff joking around and then realizing it's said something really distasteful.

I think ENFJs would be too calculated to make that sort of mistake.
 

Sarcasticus

Circus Maximus
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
1,037
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
5w4
^ I thought he was ENFJ too until he made that comment about the special olympics on Jay Leno. That seems like Ne off-the-cuff joking around and then realizing it's said something really distasteful.

I think ENFJs would be too calculated to make that sort of mistake.

*shrug* Everybody makes a faux pas now and then. I know an ENFJ girl that's famous for putting her foot in her mouth.
 

mockingbird

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2009
Messages
249
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
9w1
If he's not an ENFJ, then he is doing an excellent impersonation of one...which wouldn't be impossible, but I still doubt it.
 

NewEra

New member
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
3,104
MBTI Type
I
I wrote this a while ago about Obama. I'm still collecting as much insight into how Obama acts prviately and personally and not as a president.

I don't doubt Obama is a Fe user, I think he's either an ENFJ or an ENTP (not an ENFP at all). But I continually see more Fe/Se from him than Ne/Fe. Over the last year or so I've tried to get as much personal information about his personality as possible and it keeps striking me as Fe first. Even at his inauguration when I was standing out in the crowd they were playing his iPod playlist over the speakers and it was a bunch of pop music standard (Madonna, Beyonce, Santana's newest stuff) something you'd hear on your local top 40 radio.

The way he's chosen to reach out, his weekly web addresses, the special People's Inaugural Ball where us regular folks had a chance to get, how much he's trying to connect locally with the mayor of DC. I don't see an ENTP being the focused on fostering personal connections with people. He even uses "we" and "our" so much that it's crazy! He's incredibly thoughtful towards how his message is taken and prefers to lead through consensus. Even look at how less than 10 days in office the first interview he has is with al Jazzera telling the Muslim world that "we are not your enemy." Do ENTPs do this much reaching out naturally? I just don't see them doing that.

Even if he was an ENTP, he'd seem more similar in nature to Pres. Bill Clinton because they'd both be Ne-dominants. Obama is more measured and purposeful in how he presents himself. He has a very camera ready appearance which kind of belies the EP desire to wing it a bit.

To some extent a new president has to have the whole new ideas and change mantra going on. Especially after eight years of Bush. But I'm thinking just because people hear the words "Change" and "Ideas" they automatically think ENxP.

Check these out:
PostPartisan - Obama Cozies Up to Congress

Obama, Reaching Outside the Bubble - washingtonpost.com


He also seems like a very hands-on president, even by the way he ran his campaign. Those are very Fe-Se habits, wanting to keep your hear to the ground and continue to be in touch with the REALITIES of what's effecting people. He seems more willing to get into detail work than I'd think an ENTP would. An ENTP would typically work out the mechanics of what they want to do first (and by themselves) then present it after they feel like it's at least complete.

He wants to get to know the politicians he works with on Capital Hill in a way no president has done before him. Even on Superbowl Sunday he through a party at the White House and invited key congressmen and senators. It's just so much Fe!



How much more Fe do you need to be to actually be a Fe-dominant!? It's too much persistent and nuanced social strategy for him to be ENTP. ENTPs flub after awhile because it's hard to maintain being that deep into Fe for an extended amount of time.

That's good reasoning, you've convinced me. Maybe part of my doubt was that I don't think I actually know a single ENFJ. I honestly didn't know all this info, now I believe that ENFJ is a strong possibility.
 

nomadic

mountain surfing
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
1,709
MBTI Type
enfp
I think he is an ENF with a 55/45 J/P balance.

I am amazed at how steady and generally controlled he is with his actions, making the "right decisions", yet at the same time being able to find common grounds among such a wide variety of people in such a genuine way. Btw, he does have moments of "hermit" behavior, to recharge his energy after interacting with so many people putting himself out there.
 

Litvyak

No Cigar
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
1,822
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
ENFJ? When has he ever done anything that wasn't extremely calculated and calm?

Nearly everything in his youth; his revolts at the age of 17, taking drugs, joining a religious community, his first political campaign in Illinois (NOT calculated and calm) etc.
He's clearly an idealist, nothing like Putin.

He puts on a feeler facade to help win over the clueless masses.

Fortunately, the Enlightened are here to help those pitiful sheeps. Phew.
 

Economica

Dhampyr
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
2,054
MBTI Type
INTJ
Just quickly: Obama roasts McCain at the Alfred Smith dinner Ne dominant. Watch talk shows as well. Lots of Ne, like the Special Olympics comment simulatedworld noted.

Also, if you read Dreams from my Father, his description of himself as a youth is standard fare ENTP, all about questioning authority, getting into arguments, sampling other people's perspectives and seeing that other people get riled up about things but not understanding why. He found he could read other people's emotions, but empathy was something he had to mature into mastering, which is likely why he does not take it for granted but continues to emphasize how important it is that one consciously chooses to practice it. I find the NFJ approach is more like (innocently/sincerely wondering) "what is the matter with you that you do not feel this?"

He's remarkable for sure no matter which type he is, but given that he is an extraordinary individual, which is more likely: That he, as a politician, maximizes his use of diplomatic, seductive Fe (he still slips up though, e.g. the candidly critical "he's a jackass" comment about Kanye West which he realized only a moment too late was inappropriate rather than having pitch perfection)? Or that he, as a politician, learned Ne to rival a stand-up comedian?

... Did I start this post "just quickly"? :doh: *back to work*
 

proteanmix

Plumage and Moult
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
5,514
Enneagram
1w2
I don't understand how people are using the argument that he's not always "diplomatic" as proof of ENTP.

Fe-doms aren't always "on" and always say the most perfect thing and the most perfect moment. I just seems like the evidence people are using to say he's ENTP is he's quick, witty, and made a few jokes at someone else's expence. Is that that all it takes to qualify as Ne-dom? You've never been around any non Ne-doms who have those qualities? I think people are mistyping a lot of people if this is the case.
 

simulatedworld

Freshman Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
Messages
5,552
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I don't understand how people are using the argument that he's not always "diplomatic" as proof of ENTP.

Fe-doms aren't always "on" and always say the most perfect thing and the most perfect moment. I just seems like the evidence people are using to say he's ENTP is he's quick, witty, and made a few jokes at someone else's expence. Is that that all it takes to qualify as Ne-dom? You've never been around any non Ne-doms who have those qualities? I think people are mistyping a lot of people if this is the case.

I think it's just that most Fe doms I know would have thought out and planned exactly what to say in each of these cases, and would have been more cognizant of how his remarks might affect the feelings of others and his public image.

Also, in economica's post above--I think this has convinced me of ENTP rather than ENFP, actually. Not many Fe doms have to work consciously on feeling empathy or understanding why people's feelings operate the way they do. Those things are second nature for Fe, but Obama says he really had to make an effort to learn them.
 

Economica

Dhampyr
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
2,054
MBTI Type
INTJ
I don't understand how people are using the argument that he's not always "diplomatic" as proof of ENTP.

I'm not saying all ENFJs are always pitch perfect; I just think it's more likely that he is an ENTP who strives to use Fe as much as possible than an ENFJ who strives to use Ne as much as possible and who hasn't disciplined himself not to call people jackasses by now. The incentives speak for a politician maximizing use of Fe, not Ne.

I just seems like the evidence people are using to say he's ENTP is he's quick, witty, and made a few jokes at someone else's expence. Is that that all it takes to qualify as Ne-dom? You've never been around any non Ne-doms who have those qualities?

It's a question of degree. Of course other types can be witty, but when people think you could quit your day job and become a successful stand-up comedian, odds are you are Ne dominant, not Fe dominant.

PS: As for Ti, he was a professor of constitutional law which is all about the principles. If ptgatsby were here, he'd quote statistics saying law is an overwhelmingly T(i) profession. Again, not proof, just probability.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
MBTI Type
ENTP
I agree with what Economica is saying, and want to stress that while I saw him as a T from early on, I really have an especially hard time believing F considering his background. People are less well rounded when they are younger, and his background is as a law professor. Law is a heavy T field.
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2008
Messages
1,858
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
54
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
Law is also a heavy sj field, naturally.
 

onemoretime

Dreaming the life
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
4,455
MBTI Type
3h50
Law is also a heavy sj field, naturally.

SJs do well at the detail-oriented things. However, when it comes to legal philosophy, most of the best are INTPs, and when it comes to actual litigation, it's going to be damn hard to beat an ENTP. Public interest is almost entirely an ENFP field.
 

compulsiverambler

New member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
446
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
He's remarkable for sure no matter which type he is, but given that he is an extraordinary individual, which is more likely: That he, as a politician, maximizes his use of diplomatic, seductive Fe (he still slips up though, e.g. the candidly critical "he's a jackass" comment about Kanye West which he realized only a moment too late was inappropriate rather than having pitch perfection)? Or that he, as a politician, learned Ne to rival a stand-up comedian?
Feeling compelled to share feelings and opinions, especially about specific people, is an Fe phenomenon, not a lapse of Fe.
 
Top