Rating the Candidates 5 – Personality as the Differentiator
Hillary Clinton
By KipParent on 12-20-2007
Every Thursday and Sunday
We begin looking at the Democratic candidates for President, starting with the current front-runner. I will also write about Mike Huckabee on the Republican side as he has become a serious candidate in the past few weeks.
Hillary Clinton
Of all the Democratic candidates for President, the one more people have formed strong opinions of is Hillary Clinton.
Tough. Smart. Pew Research finds that these are the words Democratic voters overwhelmingly use to describe her.
Determined, forceful, insensitive. These words are used by both supporters and enemies.
These words may be used to describe the Fieldmarshal Rational. Hillary displays these traits and many more that Dr. David Keirsey uses to illustrate the ENTJ. The Fieldmarshal is not a shrinking violet personality. Dr. Keirsey calls them the “leaders of leaders”, as the typical ENTJ cannot not build organizations and marshal resources in solving problems. People involved in Bill Clinton’s campaigns, both for President and Governor of Arkansas, describe Hillary as the driving force of organization in the campaigns - Bill the amiable performer who wants to help everyone, and Hillary the mobilizer keeping both the strategy and the organization moving forward. A large factor in Bill’s re-election loss of the 1980 Arkansas Governor election was Hillary’s lack of involvement following the February birth of daughter Chelsea.
All Rationals challenge the accepted thinking in looking for new ways to do things, and strive for better solutions and systems often in spite of any obstacles. They are typically open to input regardless of who proposes it, and consider the long range ramifications of decisions. But, as Dr. Keirsey points out: for the Fieldmarshal, people’s feelings are rarely the important consideration in choosing a plan.
Unfortunately, she displays the Achilles heel of many Rationals in doing this. Once she has spent the time evaluating the issues and the possible courses of action, she expects others to see the solution as clearly as she does. This usually comes off as arrogance to the 90% of the population that aren’t Rationals. Two initiatives (with different program results) of Bill Clinton administrations illustrate this - her overhaul of Arkansas’ educational system in 1983, and ten years later, her attempt to overhaul the nation’s health care insurance system.
It’s a bit unfair to Hillary, as these Fieldmarshal traits are often seen as laudable in men, such as Douglas MacArthur or Jack Welch, but females, such as Margaret Thatcher end up as “The Iron Lady” or with less-complimentary labels. Hillary has attempted to soften her image, but her natural style doesn’t lend her to a warm persona – and her attempts to portray a lighter image often give the impression of a façade, even though she may indeed be genuine in the effort.
Unfortunately for Hillary, the arrows she has taken over the past 15 years seem to have left scars that hurt her as a candidate. She seems to be trying to downplay her strengths in order to win over her enemies. But she will never win her enemies over - the strength of the Fieldmarshal is to drive through them. MacArthur, Jack Welch, and Margaret Thatcher didn’t win by trying to soften their images or cede ground to their opponents. They marched forward on the strength of their convictions - winning respect for their integrity.
Hillary’s temperament makes her the least “likeable” of the Democratic candidates, and even though she enjoys a large lead in the primary polls, she is the least electable of the 3 leading Democrats come November 2008. Luckily for her, should she win the nomination, it is unlikely her Republican opponent will be an Artisan. For her to win, she needs to play to her two strengths. Here’s the Fieldmarshal Report’s campaign advice to Hillary:
First, be a Fieldmarshal. Be tough and follow your convictions - stop trying to win over your enemies. Stake out your positions and stick up for them no matter the personal attacks. Integrity matters almost as much as likeability. Second, stop trying to be loved by the voters – you’re not Bill. That’s what he, the Artisan Performer, can do for you. He’s the best front man on the planet.
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[index to all articles in this series]
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Posted by LisaFairhurst on Dec 21, 2007
Did you give advice to the Republicans too are are you showing favoritism?!? |
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Posted by mkb32 on Dec 21, 2007
You hit the nail on the head for me. I agree with so much of her views and AM impressed with the way she has handle defeat on various issues including her husbands infidelity. I don't view her as a cry baby. I like that. But deep down I just DON'T LIKE her & when she tries to "soften up" her image it seems so UNREAL to me which makes me like her less. Can we send her Kip's blog? |
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Posted by JackDermody on Dec 21, 2007
Thanks to Randy for addressing the art. Whoever's doing the art for this site is wonderful. The colors are cheerful, the lines are clean, and the style usually makes me smile. On the subject of Hillary, she may seem unelectable on the right, but she is indeed our slightly left of center version of Margaret Thatcher. Large portions of my audiences "hate" the Clintons and are even more chagrined to discover her temperament is closer to Ike's than to any other Democrat of recent history. One of the principal reasons I contend that she is electable is that she is indeed strong, serious, believable, and respectable and there are few women in this country who won't be attracted simply because they've walked down hallways cluttered with portraits of male-only Presidents, are fed up, and will cross lines to support her this time. Remember, being elected senator from New York was not a cake walk. |
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Posted by RandyParent on Dec 21, 2007
So Kip, do idealists have a greater propensity to comment on your blogs than other temperments? Why would that be? Or is the universe of participants still too small to draw any conclusions? |
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Posted by KipParent on Dec 21, 2007
Lisa, I guess I felt the need to coach my fellow Fieldmarshal (if that constitutes favoritism) - as they say, "it takes one to know one", so her stumbles tend to hit close to home. |
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Posted by KipParent on Dec 21, 2007
Randy, Idealists tend to be the most expressive with their thoughts, so they are the earliest participants in many forums. |
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Posted by JackDermody on Dec 21, 2007
I address Idealists' "greater propensity to comment" in these forums in my blog today. |
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Posted by Shinydemon on Dec 21, 2007
Unfortunately for Hillary it seems the same characteristics that make her a viable candidate, could be her downfall. Personally, I respect her intelligence and toughness. If there was any way she can adopt even a little of Bill's charm without losing her edge, she could be a dangerous opponent. |
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Posted by FriarTuck on Dec 27, 2007
I'm with MKB. That's why I'm going with Obama. He seems really smart, he has taken stands with conviction (voted against the Iraq invasion before it was fashionable), and I like him as well. I'm very interested in what you will write about the remaining candidates and your conclusions as to who are the most electable. |
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Posted by pcatiprodotnet on Jan 4, 2008
Since Fieldmarshals are the type that may become cult leaders, I'm curious why Hillary isn't more people savvy? I know two ENTJs and they could both start cults if they so desired. |
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Posted by StormTrooper on Jan 9, 2008
Looks like the republicans want to make sure she runs....shadow republicans made sure she won NH primaries by voting for her..... |
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Posted by archetypalmind on Jan 17, 2008
It seems that Hillary's entry into the runnings for president is a bit late. It would have been nice to have an ENTJ coordinating the invasion of Iraq. I usually vote republican but Obama seems to be what this country needs. I'm going to jump the gun and say that he is an ENFP, but that judgment may be too quick. |
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Posted by archetypalmind on Jan 17, 2008
It seems that Hillary's entry into the runnings for president is a bit late. It would have been nice to have an ENTJ coordinating the invasion of Iraq. I usually vote republican but Obama seems to be what this country needs. I'm going to jump the gun and say that he is an ENFP, but that judgment may be too quick. |
Great advice at the end of the blog and loved the picture at the end of the blog! I hope she's paying attention. Although, I really hope the dems nominate the candidate with the best chance of winning in November. I will leave it to Kip's upcoming blogs to advise us who that is.