Today's New York Times reports:
President Obama is reconstituting the team that helped him win the White House to counter Republican challenges in the midterm elections and recalibrate after political setbacks that have narrowed his legislative ambitions.
Mr. Obama has asked his former campaign manager, David Plouffe, to oversee House, Senate and governor’s races to stave off a hemorrhage of seats in the fall. ...
As Mr. Obama prepares to deliver his State of the Union address on Wednesday and lay out his initiatives for the second year of his presidency, his decision to take greater control of the party’s politics signals a new approach. ...
Improving tactical operations addresses only part of his challenge. A more complicated discussion under way, advisers said, is how to sharpen the president’s message and leadership style. ...
Source: Obama moves to centralize control over party strategy, Jeff Zeleny and Peter Baker, New York Times, Jan. 24, 2010.
THE POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY OF BARACK OBAMA
Alone in a crowd: When cool comes off as cold (Jacob Weisberg, Newsweek, Jan. 22, 2010) -- How Barack Obama connects to people is the opposite of a Clinton, a Bush or a Ronald Reagan. Think Lincoln or Carter. (From the magazine issue dated Feb. 1, 2010)
Related reports
Barack Obama’s Leadership Style (Feb. 21, 2009)
"The Personality Profile of President Barack Obama: Leadership Implications." Research poster presented by Sarah Moore, 44th annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, April 18, 2009, College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minn. The research, conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, was directed by Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D.
Summary of results
The profile reveals that Barack Obama is ambitious and confident; modestly dominant and self-asserting; accommodating, cooperative, and agreeable; somewhat outgoing and congenial; and relatively conscientious. The combination of ambitious and accommodating patterns in Obama’s profile suggests a "confident conciliator" personality composite.
Leaders with this personality prototype, though self-assured and ambitious, are characteristically gracious, considerate, and benevolent. They are energetic, charming, and agreeable, with a special talent for settling differences and a preference for mediation and compromise over force or coercion as a strategy for resolving conflict. They are driven primarily by a need for achievement, but also have substantial affiliation needs and a modest need for power.
The study offers an empirically based framework for anticipating Obama’s performance as chief executive. The following general predictions regarding Obama’s likely leadership style can be inferred from his personality profile:
* Ambitious, self-assured, gracious, considerate
* Preference for mediation and compromise over force or coercion as a strategy for resolving conflict
* High need for achievement; moderate need for affiliation; low need for power
* More pragmatic than ideological
* More task- than relationship oriented
* Likely to act as a strong advocate in his administration, using his powers of persuasion to advance his policy vision
* Preference for gathering information from a variety of sources rather than relying solely on advisors and administration officials
* In dealing with members of Congress, may show preference for avoiding unnecessary conflict by trying to remain above the fray in heated, highly divisive debates
* Preference for articulating and defending his policies in person rather than relying on staff and administration officials to speak for him
Obama’s Decision-Making Style (Nov. 25, 2009)
Excerpts from a feature in Oprah Magazine:
Aubrey Immelman, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University in Minnesota, says the variable that most distinguishes Obama from the two previous presidents is conscientiousness — one of the "big five" personality factors in standard psychology (everyone has all five, in differing degrees; the others are openness to experience, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism).
People who score high on the conscientiousness scale (as determined by several personality inventories) are dependable, orderly, self-disciplined, achievement oriented, cautious, industrious, and deliberate — the type who could, say, run a masterfully efficient political campaign, exercise daily, even while on the road, and make methodical decisions. (Those who score low tend to be careless, irresponsible, disorganized, and unreliable.)
Indeed, a 2000 study from the journal Assessment suggests that when it comes to presidents, conscientiousness is associated with greatness: George Washington, Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower, and Harry Truman (all of whom historians rank among the country’s foremost leaders) scored in the 90th percentile and above for the trait, based on inventories completed by biographical experts. Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were solidly conscientious (78th and 75th percentile); Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy, however, came in at the 5th percentile. ...
Full report
Barack Obama’s Personality Profile (Nov. 2, 2008)
Sarah Moore and Angela Rodgers present their research on "The Personality Profile of President Barack Obama: Leadership Implications" in the State Capitol rotunda, St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 19, 2009. The research, conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, was directed by Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D.
Sen. Barack Obama: Is he tough enough?
By Aubrey Immelman
St. Cloud Times
Nov. 1, 2008
Among the many leaders I have studied — presidential candidates as well as foreign adversaries as a consultant to the U.S. military — Barack Obama is something of a rarity. ... Read more