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What do Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney have in common? How about John McCain and John Edwards, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee?

Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill have actually taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator “MBTI.” Hillary identified herself as an INTJ. Bill demonstrated preferences for ENFP. What does this mean as far as the personality styles that we have been talking about? Well Hillary would be an “NT” strategist, Bill an “NF” diplomat. Remember then that NT Strategists identify the ways and means necessary to achieve a well defined plan and that the NF Diplomats excel at tact with people, motivating them to achieve their dreams. The additional letters E or I stand for “Extravert” and “Introvert.” Hillary prefers being an Introvert; she has a depth of concentration and prefers to think before she talks. Bill likes being an Extrovert; he has a breadth of interests and thinks as he talks. The letters J and P indicate lifestyle. The Hillary J prefers schedules and predictability; she is usually telling others “to get organized!” Bill’s P prefers to be open-ended and spontaneous; he tells others (perhaps Hillary) “to loosen up!”

So then, how do Mitt Romney and Hillary line up? They are both “NT” strategists, but Mitt is an ENTJ not an INTJ like Hillary (above). This means that he prefers Extraversion to Hillary’s Introversion which actually makes a lot of difference even when the other letters are identical. Mitt’s ENTJ is called the Field Marshall, a common style for the world’s most successful CEOs. They like to lead by mobilizing the troops and “they cannot, not lead.” Hillary’s INTJ is called NERD in high school but Mastermind at maturity. They have a defined ability to envision the future and they are always entailing, or creating contingency plans. Perhaps that was to her advantage when things didn’t go as planned during the campaign. Nobody has better ideas than the INTJ; just ask them. By the way, as NT Strategists both Hillary and Mitt seek knowledge and are driven by achievement; common characteristics shared by all Strategists, even the Johns, McCain and Edwards.

Speaking of John McCain and John Edwards, they are both NT Strategists. In fact, they are both ENTP Strategists. The hallmark of ENTPs is initiative; they are perceptive, adaptable and clever. Masters of one-upmanship, ENTPs always have a better way to do things. Instinctively inventive, they bring a strong spirit of entrepreneurship to endeavors, embracing change and innovation, and seeing ways of doing things that are not always obvious. Masters of change, some might even call them “Mavericks.”

The NF Diplomats participating in the presidential race are Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee. Not surprising then that NFs excel at public speaking; they have a natural charm and charisma as they identify at a personal level with those in the audience. They really do care. They really are sincere and people sense it. As NTs are tuned into the possibilities of ideas, NFs are attuned to the possibilities of people. Their instinct, to see the very best in every person they meet; they motivate and inspire; they lift moral and team spirit. Theirs is the world of the ideal, the flat organization where everyone collaborates. Barack, however, prefers the INFP while Mike the ENFP. This would make Mike not only the same style as Bill Clinton, but also the same personality type! Barack would differ from both in his comfort with Introversion; he would think-do-think, while they would do-think-do!

That leaves us to match the two nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama. How are they alike and how do they differ? As far as personality style is concerned, John is a Strategist NT and Barack is a diplomat NF. Both would then be considered academically astute, although John’s maverick spirit kept him at the low end of his graduating class at the Naval Academy. John, of course, would show strengths in aligning the ways and means necessary to achieve a well defined goal and with the potential of ideas. Barack would be very adept at reading people and instinctively seeing their potential. Thinking people like John are logical and objective, driven by clarity. Feeling people like Barack are more subjective and empathetic, driven by harmony.

When it comes to Extraversion and Introversion they are different as well. John has a breadth of interests and Barack a depth of focus. Extraverts like John feel comfortable showing their dominant preferences, which in his case is intuition, to the outside world; a preference full of possibilities, change, and new ideas. Introverts like Barack, on the other hand, prefer to show the world their number two preference, which in his case is feeling, keeping their dominant function, intuition, to themselves or a select few others; they show the world a sensitive, empathetic, and harmonic side. However, it must be remembered that Barack’s preferred inner world of intuition is adept at the same strengths of possibilities, change, and new ideas as their extraverted intuitive cousins.

So, with all of this being said, how does an understanding of personality type and style help us determine who would make the best president? Some might say that it is of no help whatsoever. They would say that each candidate’s individual stand on such issues as energy, security, national defense, and immigration are much more important than how they might arrive at that stance. And I might agree except for the situation we find ourselves in during this campaign. Both nominees have a preference for adaptability, in their “P” lifestyles. And in this age of virtual information and poll taking each is flopping as necessary. However, when the dust settles and the votes have been tallied, the successful candidate, who we will refer to as Mr. President, will settle into his preferred way of seeing things, his favorite perspective. At that point in time who do you want to see in the White House, a man trusting reason and aspiring to be a wizard, as does Mr. McCain, or a man trusting intuition and aspiring to be a sage, as does Mr. Obama? You make the call!