Rating the Candidates 1 – Personality as the Differentiator
First Up: Rudy Giuliani
By KipParent on 11-15-2007
Every Thursday and Sunday
Let's look at the 7 leading presidential candidates, 4 republicans and 3 democrats, with an eye toward who has the strongest chance on each side of winning the prize in November, 2008. Remember, our research of the past 100 years elections shows that the Artisan candidate – or in the case neither major party candidate is an artisan, the candidate able to behave closest to an Artisan while in the public eye – wins in November. I'll take them in order of their current standing in the primary polls, by political party starting with the Republicans. At the conclusion of this series, I'll look at various potential had-to-head November 2008 match-ups and give odds.
Republican Front Runner: Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani's behavior pattern is that of a pre-emptive Guardian. His career as a federal prosecutor – enforcing the laws of the land, as Mayor of New York City where his vision was "cleaning up the city", and his logistical mastery following 9/11 speak to his strengths as a Guardian. According to a Pew Research study, he is seen primarily as "tough" and "energetic", powerful words often associated with tough-minded Guardians such as Giuliani.
However, he also displays Guardian characteristics that will hinder him as a national candidate: he's fairly thin skinned – his firing of Police Commissioner Bill Bratton in a huff over sharing credit for New York City's crime reduction success is a prime example, and he's more effective at criticizing current evils than painting a compelling vision – his speeches tend to the concrete as opposed to "what can be". He has yet to describe a plan for moving forward in Iraq – like the other Guardian candidates he only criticizes any change in strategy as being dangerous and leading to even greater evils in the future. But what he envisions of the future, he has yet to communicate.
To his strength, of the 3 Guardian candidates for the republican nomination, Giuliani seems the most capable of displaying Artisan communication traits. He has developed an image of comfort before audiences, and handles the rigors of debate well. Time's Mark Halperin graded him an A- in a recent GOP debate, and most pundits consistently rank his performance at the top. With their natural talent for improvisation, Artisans tend to shine though in the debates, the other temperaments often come across as more rehearsed and less spontaneous. Giuliani has also become adept at projecting a more friendly, approachable image as a Presidential candidate. In fact, in a recent TV interview the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Frank Page, described him as “affable”. This is striking in that Giuliani’s positions on social issues are the least in line with social conservatives of any of the republican candidates, yet he is seen as quite personally likeable. This is a remarkable shift in attitude from the right-wing of the Republican Party toward Giuliani and is a tremendous accomplishment for the tough-as-nails former federal prosecutor. Because of this ability to project an Artisan façade, he is the second most effective November candidate on the Republican side. To mangle a cliche - he seems to be a Guardian wearing Artisan's clothing.
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I've stated above that of the four leading Republicans, three are Guardians. Any guesses / opinions on the identity and temperament of the non-Guardian candidate?
[Index to all articles in this series]
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Posted by KipParent on Nov 15, 2007
lhall - the 3 wives thing is as area that doesn't seem very cooperative... But you bring up a very good point - the "men in power" thing. Looks like temperament doesn't really explain this behavior in powerful politicians, as there is pretty good evidence of affairs / mistresses for many presidents including the Guardians and Rationals. I'm reading "The Family" presently, Kitty Kelley's biography of the Bush Dynasty, including Bush-41, a Guardian Protector. Some politicians are better at hiding their affairs than others... |
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Posted by RandyParent on Nov 16, 2007
I'm a rational/mastermind. Why don't I "get" the supposed charisma of some of these artisan politician. I always thought W was a moronic douche-bag... Guliani has a smile on his face with a stick up his ass (maybe he just comes across as a guardian to me...) |
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Posted by julenisse on Nov 16, 2007
Randy Parent for President! |
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Posted by DavidMKeirsey on Nov 19, 2007
I think first impressions in politics are subject to our political biases and our attitudes toward the other temperaments besides our own. Giuliani, very likely, is a Guardian, but it is possible he is a Rational based on my research beyond watching him on TV. Please look at the actions, not from a political point of view -- it's obvious what your politics are by your statements, but I cannot know what behaviors he is exhibiting, by your descriptions. |
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Posted by DavidMKeirsey on Nov 19, 2007
Let me warn the person reading Kitty Kelley's books. I have found that she doesn't let the facts get in the way of telling a juicy story. One is almost guaranteed that most of her "interesting" facts are made up. As far as I can tell she is the worst biographer in the last 100 years. |
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Posted by DavidMKeirsey on Nov 19, 2007
It is true, little can be concluded by politician's divorce record. Maybe used as further evidence of the Artisan temperament, but it is a very weak correlation. Guardians *tend* to divorce than rather have affairs, but again it's a weak correlation. |
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Posted by KipParent on Nov 19, 2007
Dave, I don't think my politics are obvious from my writing (although obvious to you from our many discussions)... If I have a bias in terms of Giuliani, it is that as a Pre-emptor, he would be a Fieldmarshal Rational (as opposed to Supervisor Guardian as I believe) - and as a Fieldmarshal, I just don't see him as a fellow type, and I have cited many examples of his non Fieldmarshal behavior in the article. You will see when I get to writing about other candidates that may or may not be Rational Fieldmarshals, that how I feel about them politically does not alter what I believe their temperament to be. You and I have had some good discussions about controversial politicians that I look forward to either you or I blogging on. |
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Posted by FriarTuck on Nov 20, 2007
I think Giuliani is a big phony. Its really sad that he probably can fool alot of people - anyone who looks below the surface can see what he really is... |
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Posted by FriarTuck on Nov 20, 2007
David, I can see you have been taken in by the PR machines of the people Kitty Kelly has written about. That's just what they want us to believe - that she's wacko. But they didn't want to admit that the emporer had no clothes - and nothing has cbanged since then. |
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Posted by DavidMKeirsey on Nov 21, 2007
FriarTuck, I have looked at what Kelley has said about certain people that I am *not* favorable towards, but know fair amount about them. She is not creditable. I don't pay attention to PR machines. |
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Posted by DavidMKeirsey on Nov 21, 2007
Kip, I was commenting on Randy Parent's rag on those he doesn't like. I couldn't separate the bias out from his characterization. I am just suggesting, in general, that if when discussing an individual's behavior, one should talk about more about what that individual behavior is, not one's obvious biased reaction. Its more like Warren Buffet's comment about financial predictions: you learn about the predictor, and nothing about the future. |
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Posted by pzpeggy on Nov 28, 2007
Like Kip, I understand how Guiliani is Guardian Supervisor. Being one myself, he is aggressive, assertive and no-nonsense - pre and during 911. However at what point did he stop being a Guardian to all the 911 volunteers (including but not limited to firefighters) who suffered major illness and health issues during the clean up? Where were his assertive Guardian policies to help them after the fact? |
I'm an Artisan, and I think you're spot on! Giuliani always seems like he's trying too hard... But he does a good job getting away with it. He's better then others who try... I remember when Al Gore used to try... That was horrendous. What do you make of Giuliani's womanizing? That doesn't seem so Guaridian to me... Maybe it's just a "men in power" thing... All men in power have a little Artisan in them when it comes to a little temptation here and there.