February 8, 2014

Out of 25 U.S. Presidents, I am most like... Barack Obama.

Compared to the general population, this test says I — like Barack Obama — am:
Above average on Extroversion, indicating that you are somewhere in between a pure extrovert and a pure introvert - an "ambivert."
Above average on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.
Average on Agreeableness, indicating that you alternate between being tenderhearted in some situations and tough-minded in others.
High on Conscientiousness, indicating that you are focused when it comes to goals and deadlines and like to complete your goals and tasks before starting new ones.
Average on Neuroticism, indicating that you respond adequately to changes in your environment and feel some measure of stress under pressure without letting it get to you.
Professor Yin took it and ended up being most like Dwight Eisenhower.

ADDED: After Meade took the test and came up as Barack Obama too, I formed the belief that the point of this test was to promote Barack Obama, who's so very very normal. He's just like me and the same as you. ALSO: The overeagerness of this test to tell us that we're like Barack Obama is shown by the fact that Meade and I were not the same on 4 of the 5 elements. He was average on extroversion (where I was above average), below average on openness (where I was above average), average on conscientiousness (where I was high), and low on neuroticism (where I was average). The only thing were the same on was agreeableness, where we were both average. I call bullshit on the test (and palpable bitchery on myself).

AND: A funny line from Meade's results page: "Amazingly, your personality is simply too smooth and well-rounded for Dr. Neiman's study to be able to say anything about you." To which I add: Unamazingly, Dr. Neiman's study is simply too smoothed out and dumbed down to be able to say anything about about anybody. I know: More palpable bitchery from Althouse. Which, I'd say, makes me most like… oh… Andrew Jackson. Let's make shit up.

115 comments:

Hyphenated American said...

"High on Conscientiousness, indicating that you are focused when it comes to goals and deadlines and like to complete your goals and tasks before starting new ones."

After the bedlam of bamacare, this claim cannot be taken seriously.

David said...

I too am like Barack Obama.

It's possible the test is an Obama promotion, though it's also possible that they tried to get an accurate profile of Obama through his public statements. Since those statements present a false image by design, it's hard to believe the comparison on that basis either.

Anyway, a waste of 10 minutes (which the test would tell you is ok with me.)

Issob Morocco said...

I would gladly trade you for him as our President.

Issob Morocco said...

I would gladly trade you for him as our President.

MadisonMan said...

I am also most like Obama.

How can anyone trust a survey that includes the word discotheque?

MadisonMan said...

I had the same comment from Dr. Neiman's study. I'm just to well-rounded.

My wife would disagree.

Anonymous said...

The Test Told Me I Was Most Like Lee Harvey Oswald. I Didn't Even Know That was an Option.

Anonymous said...

The Test Told Me I Was Most Like Lee Harvey Oswald. I Didn't Even Know That was an Option.

Ann Althouse said...

I wrote (corrected now): "average on conscientiousness (where I has high)..."

"I has high"… like a stoner LOLcat.

Ann Althouse said...

""I has high"… like a stoner LOLcat."

One more thing that makes me like Barack Obama.

Ann Althouse said...

"I had the same comment from Dr. Neiman's study. I'm just to well-rounded."

I kept hitting the center button or the 2 buttons next to it, because I didn't much recognize myself in any of the generic statement (of which there were 50!).

That's a way to come out "average," but if they'd interviewed me about why I thought nothing sounded like me, they might have heard some unusual reasons… not average at all.

Freeman Hunt said...

"Below average on Extroversion, indicating that you are somewhere in between a pure extrovert and a pure introvert - an "ambivert."
High on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.
High on Agreeableness, indicating that you are very empathic, tolerant of others, and socially adaptive.
Average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you take a balanced approach between sticking to plans and deadlines and being flexible about updating your current goals.
Extremely low on Neuroticism, indicating that you are relaxed, cool under pressure, and not shy about presenting yourself or your ideas."

And I am also like Barack Obama. Stare into the face of Barack Obama and see yourself. Stare into a mirror and Barack Obama will be there staring back at you. Obama is all things and encompasses all things. Obama. Obama. Obama.

heyboom said...

I'm like Ike. I found the applied attributes, some of which were less than accurate, to be pretty fascinating.

Ron said...

I'm a keep takin' the darned thing until I come out Jefferson Davis....or at least Coolidge!

Saint Croix said...

I am Obama!

joethefatman said...

Funny, it indicated I was most like George Washington.

Meade said...

You're palpably likable enough.

SteveR said...

Scientists working from the answer backwards, not being aware you are doing it is worse that being an out and out phony.

Irene said...

Oh gosh, I got Obama too.

I read the questions about flattery and manipulation as traits likely to give a Bill-Clinton result.

Ipso Fatso said...

I am most like James Garfield. Hope nobody shoots me.

Kelly said...

I got bored by question 11 and didn't finish.

Saint Croix said...

I tried strongly disagreeing with everything. That made me the most cantankerous President in United States history. It made me...

Thomas Jefferson.

I also tried strongly agreeing with everything. I am the most strongly agreeable President in United States history. Who am I?

Barack Obama.

I tried voting neutral on everything. I voted present. I voted "above my pay grade." I waffled. I had no opinion. I am Major Major Major Major. I am...

Barack Obama.

Meade said...

In fact, you are so palpably likable that I can barely detect your bitchiness.

selfanalyst said...

Am I the first to be most like Thomas Jefferson? That pleases me somehow.

lohwoman said...

I am like Saint Croix.

selfanalyst said...

OK, see I'm not first to be Jefferson, but unlike Saint Croix, I did not disagree with everything, just answered honestly.

MaxedOutMama said...

Maybe it's not a very good test - it says I am most like Obama also. But one of the reasons I answered many of the questions the way I did is that I like complex problems, but I distrust my conclusions and theories, so I have evolved a very objective method of setting and adjusting my conclusions based on data, experiment and result. Since so often my initial "brilliant" theories are debunked by reality-feedback, distrust of my own reasoning before feedback is constantly reinforced. I think it has led me to discard thinking about a lot of things that can't be tested.

That's almost the diametric opposite of President Obama's tactics, and surely this says something basic about a personality? He's all about theory and narrative, and if evidence arises to contradict his narrative, his response is to reinforce the narrative and reject the evidence. I read both his books during the 2008 campaign, and this was already strikingly obvious in him.

I would have guessed that I had some similarities with the blogmistress' profile, because otherwise I would not find the deconstruction-of-narrative that so often appears here so interesting.

But I don't think that Ann is at all like Obama. In middle age, he has evolved to a closed personality, whereas Ann has evolved to a much more open personality, in the sense that Ann is not only interested in the wider world and how people think, but very interested in the question of whether those thoughts are correct, or more correct than other thoughts. There's a huge element of "is that true, or even self-consistent" running through Ann's interactions with thoughts, theories, and opinions, and when Ann is out wandering around, there's a constant "what's here and what does that mean and how did that get here and how does that fit with what else is here?"

That's really, REALLY different than what's going on in President Obama's interactions with other persons and experiences.

Drago said...

"Eeen new Ameeerika, obama is always like you......."

Eeees guud to have obama as leader of motherland, no?

Michael K said...

I agree that it is an Obama promotion. I came out like him, too, and I know that's bullshit.

Gabriel Hanna said...

I got Thomas Jefferson--I don't feel too bad about that.

Low on Extroversion, indicating that you are an introvert who prefers calm environments to large social gatherings.

Above average on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.

Below average on Agreeableness, indicating that you are often seen as critical, tough and domineering in social situations.

Below average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you are flexible with regards to goals and deadlines and that you improvise and constantly update the course as you pursue your goals.

Below average on Neuroticism, indicating that you are relaxed, cool under pressure, and not shy about presenting yourself or your ideas.

Irene said...

"In middle age, he has evolved to a closed personality"

Over the last week, I've thought a lot about Obama's comment in the New Yorker profile that he and Michelle made a "no new friends" pact. That is really odd. I can see that they'd want to avoid being manipulated, but someone who doesn't want to get to know new people is someone who is shutting himself off from learning new things. "Closed personality."

The Drill SGT said...

Average on Extroversion, indicating that you are somewhere in between a pure extrovert and a pure introvert - an "ambivert."
Average on Openness, indicating that you prefer to strike a balance between seeking out novelty and preserving the status quo.
Below average on Agreeableness, indicating that you are often seen as critical, tough and domineering in social situations.
Average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you take a balanced approach between sticking to plans and deadlines and being flexible about updating your current goals.
Low on Neuroticism, indicating that you are relaxed, cool under pressure, and not shy about presenting yourself or your ideas.

Obama of course

Meade said...

Take the test in 4 years. We'll all come out like Hillary.

American Liberal Elite said...

I am like like James Monroe. Apart from the eponymous doctrine, I'm afraid I don't know jack about James Monroe.

Drago said...

I didn't take the test since it apparently doesn't offer the obvious obama-like options:

1) "Sort of a God"
2) Smarter than anyone else
3) Can do everyone elses job better than they
4) "Has the ability — the extraordinary, uncanny ability — to take a thousand different perspectives, digest them and make sense out of them"
5) "Has never really been challenged intellectually"
6) "Just too talented to do what ordinary people do"

Barbara said...

"I am irrepressibly reckless but also like to eat cheese." Was that in there? It would have been similar to the other statements. The only thing the "test" revealed is that participants will sit still throughout ridiculous tests and that they have a tolerance for watching and re-watching Chobani ads. I quit along about question 24 (and the sixth replay of the yogurt ad).

jimbino said...

I'm like Eisenhower, who indeed was my favorite recent president after Reagan.

But the quiz is stupid, in that it avoids the most important questions like, "Do you find it appropriate to force your religion and superstition on others?"

Mary Beth said...

I got George Washington.

cubanbob said...

AND: A funny line from Meade's results page: "Amazingly, your personality is simply too smooth and well-rounded for Dr. Neiman's study to be able to say anything about you."

I got the same result. Was most like Madison. Fess up Meade, you deliberately tried to mess with the test. I certainly tried. Funny thing is that even trying you really can't escape being like Obama after all Obama is certainly too smooth himself.

selfanalyst said...

Amusing how many people feel the need to tell us these tests are stupid. Most free entertainment is. The stuff you pay for is sometimes even more so.

Did not see any Choboni ads; was I hopelessly engrossed in the stupid test or is my ad blocker better? Not sure.

Rosalyn C. said...

I came up as closest to James Madison. Is there a blog out there for that?

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

I got Jefferson also. Fine with me. I'm above-averagely agreeable, above-averagely neurotic, well above-averagely introverted, averagely conscientious, above-averagely "open."

From this it is deduced that I am pro-choice (well, not really) and that I like broccoli (true). And that I prefer being curled up with a book than getting into crowd scenes (very definitely true).

Hyphenated American said...

Obama is always late everywhere, and yet, "average in consciousness"? Missed all deadlines on obamacare, and knew nothing about it working? Too stupid to know that his claim "if you like your insurance, you can keep youri insurance" is patently wrong?

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Obama, also. Odd.

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Obama, also. Odd.

Deirdre Mundy said...

I got Thomas Jefferson. And the "You are likely" list was pretty close, except pegged me as pro-choice. I suspect this is because the study's authors find it impossible that anyone could BOTH like art, philosophy, and literature AND be a devout Catholic.

Apparently they've never met Aquinas. Or a Jesuit.

rcommal said...

Good grief. Abraham Lincoln. What the--?!

CWJ said...

Wow, all these Obama results.

Why its almost like he's genetically related to all of us.

You know, kind of like a brother.

A big one.

Paddy O said...

I'm like Thomas Jefferson, thank you very much.

Maybe being like Obama says less about the test and more about the takers, you bunch of wishy-washy egotists.

Though, I suspect the "Obama" marker for the test is likely closer to the 2008 portrayal than the actual person. I don't get any sense that Obama is an extrovert. Now Bush, GWB, he was an extrovert.



Compared to the general population, you are:

Low on Extroversion, indicating that you are an introvert who prefers calm environments to large social gatherings.

High on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.

Average on Agreeableness, indicating that you alternate between being tenderhearted in some situations and tough-minded in others.

Average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you take a balanced approach between sticking to plans and deadlines and being flexible about updating your current goals.

Low on Neuroticism, indicating that you are relaxed, cool under pressure, and not shy about presenting yourself or your ideas.

Hyphenated American said...

According to this test, I am bill Clinton,

Paddy O said...

I liked this box:

According to a study done by Jeffery J. Mondak, Ph.D., your scores indicate that you are:

Not likely to discriminate on the basis of race or sexual orientation.

yep

More likely to be pro-choice rather than pro-life.

Likely to feel trapped by the status quo.

yep

Likely to enjoy complex and abstract discussions.

yep
Likely to be more knowledgeable on academic topics.

hope so

Less likely to have a tolerant attitude towards smoking.

yep

More likely to favor harsh criminal punishments over milder ones.

depends. Harsh is imprecise. More likely to favor efficient punishments.

Less likely to watch TV and read the news, preferring instead to follow your own interests.

yep

Less likely to mobilize your friends in your own interests, preferring instead to immerse yourself in your interests in solitude.

yep

Someone who seems impassive to others, while being in fact quite sure of your own views.
impassive is the opposite of sureness? I think they need a dictionary. But yes, less emotional, confident in views

More likely to enjoy fitness training and physical exercise.

yep. Which is why I'm crabby after not doing this for a while

More likely to nurture a few select beliefs that you regard as settled in stone.

yep

Less likely to flirt with harm and danger.

to a point. Not for its own sake

Less likely to have insurance or to belong to a labor union.

The first is moot, because of the pervasive Obama. I'm not part of a labor union but I'm part of academia, that's close.

rcommal said...

"Compared to the general population, you are:

Above average on Extroversion, indicating that you are somewhere in between a pure extrovert and a pure introvert - an "ambivert."
Extremely high on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.
Average on Agreeableness, indicating that you alternate between being tenderhearted in some situations and tough-minded in others.
Below average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you are flexible with regards to goals and deadlines and that you improvise and constantly update the course as you pursue your goals.
High on Neuroticism, indicating that you are quick to respond to changes in your environment and that you react strongly to both good and bad news.
"

Looking at the graph that accompanied the result, I appear to track closely with what they've ascribed to Lincoln in two areas, Openness and Neuroticism, in which we're both categorized as very high. We don't seem to track particularly in the others. Interesting.

MadAir said...

I am most like Obama--which is to say, not well suited to be president.

traditionalguy said...

Andy Jackson you say.

As I suspected you are a Scots Irish American at heart, of the "no Surrender" feminist warriors branch.

iowan2 said...

NO

It has me wrong. I Do believe in capital punishment, dont believe in welfare, do take risks and suffer harm.Absolutely use insurance in my life, and would never join a union of free will.

I agree with the profs assesment, this is nothing but an attempt to make Obama look normal.

Scott said...

I scored most like James Madison. Since I lived in Madison for 30+ years, the test must be spot on...

Carl Pham said...

The great thing about popular personality tests is, the good ones discover exactly who you think you are, which is why they are popular.

Oh look! I'm an ENTJ! I knew it! I'm a natural leader who isn't always sufficiently forgiving of the faults of slackers and weasels. And not in any way a self-centered judgmental ass.

Since normal (meaning not clinically dysfunctional) human beings always think better of themselves than they truly deserve -- we're all above average drivers, ha ha -- any self-administered personality test that was very accurate would pretty much ipso facto be despised, and generally criticized as faulty. So you will never actually come across an accurate voluntary personality test.

I see it as akin to Niven's Law On Time Machines, which says that in any universe in which a time machine is possible, no such device will ever be invented.

Freeman Hunt said...

The great thing about popular personality tests is, the good ones discover exactly who you think you are, which is why they are popular.

This. Try bringing that up when people take Myers-Briggs though. They won't like it.

David said...

Thomas Jefferson, so there.

Carl Pham said...

Thomas Jefferson for me, as it happens.

I wonder if Obama comes out a lot for women, inasmuch as his public persona is probably about the most effeminate of any US President, and we haven't had any actual female Presidents?

Howard said...

These tests are for developing marketing profiles. It's a sad psychological need that everyone has to psychoanalyze themselves in front of toadal strangers who want the insight to sell them more and more cheap china junk.

Rockport Conservative said...

I love to see you using that palpable bitchery phrase. Makes me laugh.

richardsson said...

Usually, I don't think much of these tests. At 65, my answers were a lot different than they would have been at 25 or 30. I came out most like James Madison, except that I am more of an extrovert than him. Like Meade, they say I'm too [subtle and devious, Ha. Ha.] to be described. The only thing I found fault with is they say that I'm more likely to be a fan of romantic comedies than most people. Where on Earth did they get that idea?

khematite@aol.com said...

No Dylan tag for "He's just like me and the same as you."?

rehajm said...

Teddy Roosevelt, baby! I'm more likely than the average person to enjoy bitter vegetables like broccoli and arugula? Depends on if it's voluntary or I'm made to eat them..

Off to bag an elephant.

Steve said...

I too am Barack Obama. And here I am out of my medication for depression.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I am like Thomas Jefferson

Below average on Extroversion, indicating that you are an introvert who prefers calm environments to large social gatherings.

Above average on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.

Low on Agreeableness, indicating that you are often seen as critical, tough and domineering in social situations.

Above average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you take a balanced approach between sticking to plans and deadlines and being flexible about updating your current goals.

Average on Neuroticism, indicating that you respond adequately to changes in your environment and feel some measure of stress under pressure without letting it get to you.

Evidently I also like broccoli and arugula.

Most of the rest was pretty much right-on as well. Except for "More likely to end up in jail or to get in trouble with the law." ....I'm much to careful to get caught :-)

The Godfather said...

I was hoping for Coolidge (I knew I had no hope to be Reagan), but I got Obama. If anybody got Coolidge, please tell me how you did it.

When I got Obama I was worried at first, because I know myself and I know that my personality is not suited to running a large organization. So if Obama's like me . . . .

Then I started thinking: What Obama personality traits are most obvious and remarked upon? He always thinks he knows the subject, whatever it is, better than anybody else. He isn't good at taking advice from people with more experience. He doesn't admit mistakes and doesn't learn from them. He has a grandiose sense of himself (. . . the rise of the seas will begin to stop . . . .). I have NONE of those characteristics. So how can Obama and I be the same?

So I'm really glad to learn from the comments that this test is designed in such a way that most people come up Obama-like. The test is meaningless. It doesn't prove that Obama is no more suited to be President than I am.

Experience proves that.

Anonymous said...

Barack Obama. These tests never surprise me.

Compared to the general population, you are:

Average on Extroversion, indicating that you are somewhere in between a pure extrovert and a pure introvert - an "ambivert."
Above average on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.
Average on Agreeableness, indicating that you alternate between being tenderhearted in some situations and tough-minded in others.
Above average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you are focused when it comes to goals and deadlines and like to complete your goals and tasks before starting new ones.
Below average on Neuroticism, indicating that you are relaxed, cool under pressure, and not shy about presenting yourself or your ideas.

Levi Starks said...

Obama...... "sigh"

It's really sad, because even though I count myself a Republican, I've always idolized Harry S Truman.

Anonymous said...

DBQ,
"Low on Agreeableness, indicating that you are often seen as critical, tough and domineering in social situations."

2/8/14, 3:37 PM

Chuckle.

Big Mike said...

I didn't take the test, but I think I am most like John McCain.

Oh, wait.

Big Mike said...

@Issob, I strongly agree with the swap you proposed at 11:43, but given how screwed up everything about this administration is right now, why would she want the job?

Issob Morocco said...

Is not this test skewed by only including 25 Presidents? What about Martin Van Buren or James K. Polk? Millard Fillmore (Progenitor of the modern 20th century Rock Concert Halls maker)?

Chester Arthur where are you?

I notice some of the questions actually are two in one, with variance between the two that will make some pivot on one part or the other. That probably ties into how the critical questions that drive you in Ike or Obama.

The detail about one is not bad but who rated the Presidents answers to the questions?

Freeman Hunt said...

I think highly agreeable and not at all neurotic should come out as George W. Bush.

Hyphenated American said...

I am curious if Obama were to take this test and come up as Obama, and not god,

MrCharlie2 said...

another Madison. wish I was a Jefferson.

Unknown said...

I was confused until I figured out these are things that we pretend Obama is.

Dr Weevil said...

Scott (2:03pm) "scored most like James Madison" and "lived in Madison for 30+ years". What is he, a tapeworm?

Saint Croix said...

this is nothing but an attempt to make Obama look normal.

Did you see that Obama was given an extremely low "neurotic" score? As in, almost zero?

I answered as if I am a superior human being. I am Superman, I am Jesus Christ, I am the greatest, I am 10 IQ points higher. I am

Barack Obama

Almost tracks his "score" exactly.

I was thrown by the "I am superior to other people and I know it." I thought, superior people ought to be humble, right? But then I thought, no, no, just admit my superiority.

Maybe that's where Barack Obama bailed. He got a 5 on the neurotic score. As Superior Man, I got a 0.

Extremely low on Neuroticism, indicating that you are relaxed, cool under pressure, and not shy about presenting yourself or your ideas.

Another possibility is that James Bond is a sociopath!

As Superior Man, I got a 100 on Conscientiousness. That loser Barack Obama got a 75.

Extremely high on Conscientiousness, indicating that you are focused when it comes to goals and deadlines and like to complete your goals and tasks before starting new ones.

Obama's a 75 because he can't give up smoking! You ought to give up smoking before you fix our health care system. And maybe you ought to fix healthcare.gov before you move on to the next socialist plan.

Geez, you 25-point below unconscientious people suck.

I am Above Average on Agreeableness. Barack Obama is a 50 on Agreeableness. I, as Superior Man, am a 70. Oops. Apparently I went disagreeable a couple of times.

Above average on Agreeableness, indicating that you are very empathic, tolerant of others, and socially adaptive.

Superior Man should have a perfect score on that! Damn my lack of social adaptability, anyway.

Obama beats Superior Man on Openness. Obama is 75 open. I am 70 open.

Above average on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.

More change! More, more, more! Superior Man wants to improve this planet and he wants to improve it now!

You can skip the extrovert-introvert questions, Superior Man has no opinion on that. Sometimes Superior Man likes football or the discotheque. Other times, Superior Man prefers to be by himself and away from those damn fools.

Kirk Parker said...

"Which... makes me most like… Andrew Jackson."

Whoa. Strange New Respect™ for Althouse!


Issob,

"I would gladly trade you for him as our President."

Good grief, what has Althouse ever done to you, to warrant such a curse!

Kirk Parker said...

BTW, is it a problem if it says, "You are most like Genghis Khan"?

Ann Althouse said...

"No Dylan tag for "He's just like me and the same as you."?"

No, but I sincerely appreciate your noticing.

Ann Althouse said...

Ain't no use a-talkin' to me. It's just the same as talking to you.

Scott M said...

More palpable bitchery from Althouse.

If you sold t-shirts with that on it, AA, I would buy ten and hand them out.

Website on the front, maybe "Cruel Neutrality" under it or somehow logo-ized. And in big, bold letters on the back..."Palpable Bitchery"

That's a win-win-win.

tim maguire said...

Barack Obama here! Which I find deeply insulting.

A lot of questions were hard to answer because they were really two questions in one and there's no reason why your answer for both must be tne same.

"When I get a present, I want to open it right away. I'm not good at waiting."

I want to open it right away, but I'm great at waiting. So how do i answer that?

I found this problem with at least half of the questions.

Skeptical Voter said...

If you are a horndog like say Bill Clinton you really want to be like Warren G. Harding. He "got a lot" in the White House. He DID have sex with that woman in the White House broom closet.

Foobarista said...

I'm inclined to agree with you that this is a bit of a troll (I came up as an "Obama" too and I'm basically an asocial libertarian computer nerd)...

The details after the test didn't sound like Obama at all: willing to use military force, not liking diplomacy, etc.

Ann Althouse said...

@Scott M Ha ha. Good idea. Maybe Meade will go into that line of manufacturing. Silk-screening. He could.

And I like the juxtaposition of my old 2008 slogan with the new one. They are nicely balanced, graphically.

And it makes me think I am re-branding, from cruel neutrality to palpable bitchery.

Ann Althouse said...

It's a better approach to the 2016 election, don't you think.

Anonymous said...

George Washington here.

I expected BHO - neither one of us should be president.

William M. Andrews said...

Ann: Like you I am a lawyer. My test results indicated that I also was like Obama, someone with whom I generally agree with on many topics, but have had my heart broken by him too many times to count. I was wondering if there is a correlation between testing out as Obama and being a lawyer. I don't know how many of your readers and commenters are lawyers, but it would seem logical that a large percentage are lawyers, as several law- related blogs link to you in their respective blogrolls(that's how I found you). I have copied my test results below and I have to admit that it nailed me fairly accurately.
Also, I disagree with you often in some of the positions you take, yet we appear to be like in many regards. Did law school make us this way? any thoughts?

Compared to the general population, you are:
• Above average on Extroversion, indicating that you are an open and talkative extrovert • High on Openness, indicating that you are very impatient with the way things are and always on the look for the new, the untested, and the untried.
• Average on Agreeableness, indicating that you alternate between being tenderhearted in some situations and tough-minded in others.
• Average on Conscientiousness, indicating that you take a balanced approach between sticking to plans and deadlines and being flexible about updating your current goals.
• Below average on Neuroticism, indicating that you respond adequately to changes in your environment and feel some measure of stress under pressure without letting it get to you.

According to a study done by Jeffery J. Mondak, Ph.D., your scores indicate that you are:
• Not likely to discriminate on the basis of race or sexual orientation.
• More likely to be pro-choice rather than pro-life.
• Likely to feel trapped by the status quo.
• Likely to enjoy complex and abstract discussions.
• Likely to be more knowledgeable on academic topics.
• More likely to have a tolerant attitude towards smoking.
• More likely to favor mild criminal punishments over harsher ones.
• More likely to watch TV, read the news, and stay up to date on current events.
• More likely to mobilize your friends to take part in your own interests.
• Someone who seems opinionated to others, while being in fact quite open-minded and tolerant of opposing views.

Jayme Neiman, Ph.D.says I am ore likely than the average person to enjoy bitter vegetables like broccoli and arugula.

Known Unknown said...

I got Obama.

But then, if you read down farther you see:

More likely to support the use of capital punishment.
Less likely to take a favorable view of government welfare programs.


Hmmm. Strange.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fen said...

Althouse: I formed the belief that the point of this test was to promote Barack Obama, who's so very very normal.

Spot on. Glad to see you still have it.

Kirk Parker said...

William,

"[I] have had my heart broken by [Obama] too many times to count."

What possible excuse is there after the second time?

Known Unknown said...

I'm a textbook INTJ - the rarest of the Myers-Briggs personality types. Also tend to be viewed as the biggest assholes.

Mr. D said...

I'm like Obama, except that I'm not. There's a sidebar on Myers-Briggs types. I know my type and it isn't the same as the one they ascribe to Obama.

Freeman Hunt said...

I think marking "I'm superior to other people, and I know it," should put one on the Delusional scale.

Freeman Hunt said...

Myers-Briggs is a good measure of how one sees himself, just like this test.

One of the most F people I know got a strong T on a Myers-Briggs.

One of the most socially inept people I know came out as a good leader.

One of the strongest natural leaders I know came out as a behind the scenes supporter.

All of their results correlated with how they saw themselves but not with reality. Of course, some people will see themselves more accurately, but that's not part of the test.

deepelemblues said...

"According to a study done by Jeffery J. Mondak, Ph.D., your scores indicate that you are:"

about 90% of what follows is just completely wrong about me.

BarrySanders20 said...

Ulysses S Grant for me.

Drunk. Master of chaos. Effective warrior.

BarrySanders20 said...

Ulysses S Grant for me.

Drunk. Master of chaos. Effective warrior.

Saint Croix said...

What leaped out at me as I pretended to be Superior Man is that there are "right" answers to many of the questions.

"My fantasies and speculations have a dark and brooding twist." Stephen King would agree with that, right? But if Stephen King knew that "dark and brooding" was bad, and he wanted to be good, he might be inclined to lie.

Once you figure out the "right" answers, it was shockingly easy to duplicate Obama's bar chart almost exactly.

"I often feel anxious and uncomfortable."

Another question with a right and wrong answer. Hide your anxiety, hide your discomfort, and you too can be a superior human being. You can be Obama.

"I often procrastinate."

Yet another question with a right answer. Procrastination is bad. The more you procrastinate, the less you are like Obama. Obama never procrastinates!

"I like to stick to familiar foods."

Seems like a non-judgmental question, right? What difference does food make?

And yet, once you adopt the right/wrong framework, it's obvious what the "right" answer should be. You're afraid to try new foods! You're a child. You have no curiosity. You're close-minded and scared. You're not brave like I am. I ate a dog, man.

No, wait, that was Obama.

Saint Croix said...

I think the reason that so many of us are getting Obama is that we subconsciously recognize the right answer in many of these questions, and we pick it.

And the reason all these right answers match up with Obama is because he is the coolest of all the presidents, duh.

themightypuck said...

OMG I'm Clinton.

Saint Croix said...

I am now picking all the wrong answers to see if I get Nixon.

Saint Croix said...

Boom, I got Richard Nixon almost exactly. I just went with Evil Right-Winger Who Doesn't Care About Anybody And Is Terrified Of Everything.

ERW for short.

ERW scored 100 on the neurotic scale. (NIxon 95).

ERW missed badly on Conscientiousness. I went with irresponsible and unable to meet any deadlines. Nixon scored high on Conscientiousness, 95 again. (Except for that Watergate thing, I guess).

ERW is introverted, not open at all, and disagreeable.

That was easy.

Saint Croix said...

I was not able to replicate this with Bill Clinton. First time I tried, I got Grant. Second time I tried, I got John Kennedy.

It's tricky because you are trying to put yourself not only in the mind of Bill Clinton, but also the "doctor" who came up with this crap.

Imagine relying on self-diagnosis for neurosis. For fuck's suck! Talk about your lazy shortcuts. And then to psychoanalyze dead presidents and answer the questions for them? I would be embarrassed to put my name on that. Talk about making a mockery of your own profession.

Anyway, I thought I could do it. I thought I could put myself in the mind of this silly doctor and answer the questions (as he did) as if I was Bill Clinton.

So I went through the test, pretending to be Bill Clinton.

Bill Clinton loves people (100 on extraversion, check). Bill Clinton feels their pain (100 on empathy, check). Bill Clinton is not at all ashamed about anything he does. (0 on neurosis, check). And Bill Clinton is an irresponsible slob who violated his marriage vows (0 on conscientiousness, check).

I was sure I had Clinton! And I got JFK.

Saint Croix said...

I think marking "I'm superior to other people, and I know it," should put one on the Delusional scale.

Yes! It's not a measure of neurosis at all. It's a measure of confidence. Saying "I am superior to other people" is clearly delusional. Even if it's true!

For instance, suppose you are that chess prodigy from Norway. He's #1 in the world. He could legitimately say that he is superior to other people, and he knows it.

But only in chess! You'd have to be delusional to think chess is the world. Can you dunk a basketball? Are you a master chef?

It might signal delusion, megalomania, any number of mental disorders, to say that you are superior to other people. And yet checking the superiority box (which I did as Superior Man) got me a 0 on "neurosis."

Obama got a 5. So my guess is that you're not supposed to score a perfect 0 on "neurosis." If you score a perfect zero on neurosis, go to a doctor, you lying bastard.

But if you score the almost perfect 5 on "neurosis," that's actually perfect. You are Obama!

It's absurd, by the way, to think Nixon is a 95 on "neurosis." That's a liberal fantasy. You don't run for President if you have no confidence at all.

Saint Croix said...

That's why it was so easy for me to replicate the Obama and Nixon charts.

It's easy to predict how liberals think about Nixon, and how liberals think about Obama.

Bill Clinton, much harder to pinpoint how liberals think about him.

DCS said...

I'm Eisenhower.

Strelnikov said...

This is the second "test" you've featured which also defaulted to Obama. Even I O the last time. Ike this time.

Once is a coincidence, twice is proof.

ddh said...

James Madison here.

Michael said...

OK, this is fake. It also said that I am most like Barack Obama, which is crazy talk. Eisenhower, maybe.