I received this reply to our post on Barack Obama’s Enneagram Type….

“I too agree that Obama is a Three.  I have a question.  The passion of a Three is DECEIT.  Because Threes do not allow themselves to become emotionally connected to other people, their attitude, that ‘anything goes’ on their way to the top, is laced with deception.  Because this is an unconscious self deception, how do we know that he is not deceiving the public?”  - Bill

A good question Bill. People who are Enneagram Type Three often get lost bending the truth and telling people what they want to hear. They have an amazing capacity to create an image, a persona that is the perfect model for whatever group they are in.

I can see how knowing that Barack Obama is a type Three might bring up concern. You start to wonder, is he the real deal, or is he just telling us what we want to hear, hiding the truth, and play-acting the “role” of a competent, visionary, motivational leader?

I’ve had similar thoughts.

I think Obama does tell us what we want to hear. All good politicians focus on the issues that concern the public, and they learn to talk directly to those issues.

I’ll tell you what puts my mind at ease…

Obama is not dominated by his type fixation. This is good news.

When a type Three is dominated by their fixation, I experience them as feeling plastic, unreal, without depth. When I watch them speak, they look like a caricature of themselves trying to be something or say something that they are not. They don’t impact my body and emotions in a real way.

When a speaker talks and what they say matches their deeply held convictions, something happens. Our bodies and emotions react.

I can feel my body respond when Obama hits a deeper place. I feel heat in my chest, he touches my heart, and my eyes water when his conviction resonates with my deeply held beliefs.

When I watch Barack Obama, I see someone who has depth. He moves me.

This leads me to believe that there is congruence between his words and his beliefs. I see, in Obama, a level of authenticity and self-revealing that is present in type Threes who have achieved a high level of emotional freedom from their fixation.

So this gives me more peace of mind.

Healthy Three’s bring the gifts of hope, personal betterment, intense focus, and a “can do” attitude to the people around them.

All of the Types can get lost in their fixations. But we humans are so much more than that. When any of us loosens the grip of our Type, we can react in more creative, appropriate ways to problems and to people. We are more present to ourselves and to the people we interact with.

It is my hope, no matter who ends up running this country, that he has some freedom from his emotional baggage. That he can handle the pressing problems of our time with creativity, integrity, and ease.

Please comment below. Do you feel the hope I’m speaking to here?

P.S. People were asking about Sarah Palin’s Type. I think she’s up next.

Ben

Okay, I admit it.  I know I’m not supposed to assign a type to someone else, but I can’t help it.  People keep asking me, “What type is Barack Obama?”

Every time I see him, I try to guess his type.  And it seems like all of the Enneagram folks I know are discussing it.  Aren’t you?

Well, here’s the current debate:  He’s a type 9 or a type 3.

What I’ve heard from those in the “He’s a 9″ camp is how calm and easy going, unflappable he is in every speech.  Sometimes he cannot be pinned down on a specific point because he wants more information, and he seems to be assessing multiple points of view.  He’s even been accused of “flip-flopping.”  Haven’t we heard that somewhere before?!

From the “He’s a 3″ camp, we can look to his resume as an example: Graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude, President of The Harvard Law Review, Columbia undergrad, professor, lawyer, community organizer… And that’s all before he got into politics!  Then look at his record of Senate participation and getting legislation passed–it’s pretty impressive.  Oh, and don’t forget the perfect, brilliant wife and beautiful children.  This man is only 47 years old.

I can see both perspectives and think they’re both pretty persuasive, but my take is that he is a 3. I think he appears like a 9 because that is the image he is projecting.  Calm, cool, and collected.  But in the debates, when McCain characterized him poorly, you could see his reaction.  His face flushed, his jaw tightened.  This isn’t someone whose anger is hidden from him.  This is someone who is managing his image, and doing a great job of it.  So that’s why I believe he’s not a 9.

But here’s what really convinces me he is a 3, the story about how he got together with his wife Michelle.  He relentlessly pursued her for their first date, even though it was frowned upon by the law firm where they both worked.  And do you know how he finally achieved that first date?  Charm.  He turned on that sweet, innocent, little boy quality that a 3 does so well.  After she had turned him down a number of times, he sweetly asked her if he could just buy her some ice cream.  Hmmmmm, attempting to melt her heart?

And finally, he radiates hope, the Holy Idea for type 3. His book, The Audacity of Hope, was one of those books…when I read it I was certain that anyone who read it would vote for him. His ability to inspire and create a sense of possibility allows many Americans to hope again. It is palpable.

What do you think?  We’d love to hear your perspective as we continue our own Presidential debate.