June 3, 2010

Calling All Graphologists: The BO Signature is Up for Analysis

osignature.jpg

"X" marks the spot: Close-up detail of President Obama's signature on a bill.

UPDATE: And we're back from the break for the 2010 season. Bruge opens the festivities with, "Intelligent artistic with a large ego. Charges ahead and without full thought or fully evaluating repercussions of his moves just like his father."

Serious analysis please. No wisecracks about Droodles, or signing checks your mouth can't cash. Okay?

Posted by Vanderleun at June 3, 2010 3:13 PM | TrackBack
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

I don't know anything about graphology, but my first impression is someone very arrogant and egotistical. Those caps are grotesque and the rest of the signature is illegible. To me, he is saying, "I'm so important and special, all you need know is my initials."

Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) at April 30, 2009 2:57 AM

As I've said elsewhere, the bisected "O" looks overtly female. Explains so much.

Posted by: Joan of Argghh! at April 30, 2009 4:29 AM

My thought is 8th grade, I remember the girls trying to incorparate smiley faces, hearts for the dots over i's etc. It is a signature that tries too hard.

Posted by: Carol Christopher at April 30, 2009 5:25 AM

External persona greatly at odds with internal self. Comes on as very extraverted, warm, friendly--but not nearly as much internally. Very intelligent, rapid mind. Concepts more important than emotions: tends to the doctrinaire. Independent, isolated. Holds self off. Masked. Wall of protection either phyical or psychological. Insincere. Hard for another person to get in. He's definitely the center of his own universe. Very high opinion of self, self-centered. Articulate, diplomatic; possibly glib liar. Has a virtually unshakable sense of what he construes to be ethical. His opinions have been crystallized. Not given to compromise. Utopian idealist. Sensualist. Restlessly looks for sensory stimulus, if you'll pardon the word.

Posted by: ahem at April 30, 2009 5:32 AM

My impression is that the sig is one of a racist, anti American megalomaniac.

Posted by: sicklecelarmenia at April 30, 2009 5:53 AM

The slanted B is formed to look like a heart suggesting that he's in love with himself. The large O represents that he likes to shop at Overstock.com (sorry)!

Posted by: Donald at April 30, 2009 7:24 AM

As a psychologist who works in employment selection, including selection of applicants for high security positions, I can tell you that the research evidence and the overwhelming consensus in our field is that graphology is worthless, whether it is used as personality assessment tool or a predictor of job performance. Virtually all studies, as well as a thorough meta-analysis of graphology studies, find that graphologists do no better than chance at identifying traits identified by validated instruments and they do no better than chance at predicting job performance.

Posted by: Jeff Arnold at April 30, 2009 7:28 AM

Of course, Jeff. It may well be worthless, it may well be a step to the side in reading tealeaves, but it is so much fun.

Posted by: vanderleun at April 30, 2009 8:46 AM

Now... "ahem" is someone who is getting with the program.

Posted by: vanderleun at April 30, 2009 8:48 AM

I think Carol Christopher has got it. It looks like nothing so much as a pubescent girl's notebook, practiced overnovernovernover.

Posted by: Rob De Witt at April 30, 2009 10:38 AM

"ahem" is indeed right on...but one doesn't need to see 0bama's signature to know that about him.

Posted by: pete madsen at April 30, 2009 11:09 AM

Clearly, his initials here are a type of doodled self-portrait; careful examination shows that he does in fact see himself as a large penis breast (that's a term of art, I'm told). The discrepancy in size between his initials and the letters that follow is a strong indication of how he views himself as compared to his subordinates.

Posted by: Julie at April 30, 2009 11:33 AM

This must be pre-election, as there is no 'Hussein' (Sp?).

Posted by: garrett at April 30, 2009 11:35 AM

How about 300 photos to autograph?

Posted by: Fausta at April 30, 2009 12:32 PM

What I found fascinating was to follow the link to the Flickr page where the photo originated, and read those commentators thoughts, yikes! They serve the kool-aid in 55-gallon drums over there, or perhaps those folks are hooked up to a kool-aid IV, so they maintain a continuous buzz.

Posted by: Boots at April 30, 2009 12:34 PM

Grandiose Malignant Narcissism !!!

PLEASE America learn about and understand this dangerous disorder, It is in control of Obama.

Obama Is Unfit To Serve !!!

Impeachment MUST Happen NOW !!!

Posted by: Beyond Concerned at April 30, 2009 4:00 PM

The three books I read on graphology are a dim memory, but I do not think Ahem is just playing a parlor game.

The characteristics of even great men--and Obama is not one--are often no more flattering than Ahem describes, so that is no indictment.

The contraditions Ahem notes in the signature are obvious, but all the letters that break the plane downward and are absent--f, g, j, q, and y. These would yield more about his sexuality; still all in all this signature is not masculine. He is as conscious of his appearance as a woman. Sorry ladies.

Posted by: james wilson at April 30, 2009 6:53 PM

Donald upthread mentions Overstock.com. This gives me an opening to publicize that Overstock CEO guy's blog.

www.deepcapture.com

Why do I want to do this? Because if you read a few of the articles, you will see your chance to join the small club of people who understand what happened to the country's markets just before the election. Thank you for reading!

Posted by: buddy larsen at April 30, 2009 7:17 PM

the 'arack' and 'bama' being partly-inside the 'B' and 'O' mean something --i read somewhere --but i forget what.

Posted by: buddy larsen at April 30, 2009 9:18 PM

OK, I'll have a go at it. Note: in order to do this in depth it would be better to have a paragraph or two of his handwriting, but signatures alone can be quite telling. The signature is what the writer wishes to project to others.

Idealist and dreamer with ideas that are too far out to reach reality. A person who rigidly (and bitterly-sorry I couldn't resist...) clings to the concepts of "right" and "wrong" he learned as a child. This person inwardly has feelings of inferiority, finds little joy in life and under pressure flees to his fantasy world and in general does not like to deal with the problems and realities of daily life. Deep inner feelings of being rejected as a child. The tall, distorted and embellished upper zone indicates one who retreats into fantasy serious enough to indicate mental illness. The image he projects to the world and the person he truly is are two entirely different things thus he walks a tightrope emotionally and psychologically.

Exceptionally vain. Craves admiration and respect. Persuasive speaker with the ability to present himself in any way he chooses. Strong compulsion to prove to both himself and others that he is a superior being and to be recognized as an accomplished person.

Posted by: Ennis at May 1, 2009 6:41 AM

Check out the cross formed where the the top of the b and O meet.

Posted by: sehoy at May 1, 2009 7:31 AM

Crossed strokes at the top=Inattention to details, inexact.

Posted by: Ennis at May 1, 2009 7:52 AM

Overt emphasis on the "B" and "O" indicate a desperate need to feel important by surrounding himself with those he sees as inferior. Insecurity disguised as arrogance. The effeminate stroke reveals a desire to be seen as non-threatening, which contradicts the oversized "power" initials. This is someone who is confused (or perhaps unhappy) about who he is.

Posted by: justaguess at May 1, 2009 9:03 AM

Can't stand Obama. Can't stand Obamania.

But his signature is very similar to mine, and I'm a VERY different person than him. I'm not egotistical (he clearly is), I'm not doctrinaire (very practical, but with strongly held views that shift from time to time according to the best evidence, very much unlike Obama).

Graphology is clearly worthless based on that simple anecdotal view.

Posted by: Rick at May 1, 2009 2:54 PM

Nice attempts, all.

Let me help elucidate the hidden depths of our 44th's subconscious mind.

The screaming B and O clearly reveal an unconscious desire to shout out his inner STINK!

That's all.

You're welcome.

Posted by: Cathy at May 1, 2009 5:40 PM

NO HUSSEIN.

BUT HE INSISTED ON USING HIS MIDDLE NAME WHEN BEING SWORN IN.

= PHONY.

Posted by: reliapundit at May 2, 2009 7:38 PM

It looks a lot like Walt Disney's signature.

Obama is unpredictable, creative and intuitive. Also, his sig. shows that he has an enormous ego.

The most striking and unsettling thing is the "O" divided into two pieces by a suddenly light stroke of pen (Obama's hand apparently released the pen pressure when he made the stroke to divide the "O."

Conclusion: he's trying to hide it but there are literally two sides to his personality.

Posted by: Patty at May 5, 2009 4:57 PM

It looks a lot like Walt Disney's signature.

Obama is unpredictable, creative and intuitive. Also, his sig. shows that he has an enormous ego.

The most striking and unsettling thing is the "O" divided into two pieces by a suddenly light stroke of pen (Obama's hand apparently released the pen pressure when he made the stroke to divide the "O."

Conclusion: he's trying to hide it but there are literally two sides to his personality.

Posted by: Patty at May 5, 2009 4:57 PM

Intelligent artistic with a large ego. Charges ahead and without full thought or fully evaluating repercussions of his moves just like his father.

Posted by: broge at June 3, 2010 10:55 AM

Barack Obama?
Looks like it says "nO Backbone" to me...

Posted by: Cheezburgrrr at June 3, 2010 5:29 PM

It will be more instructive for graphologists, political scryers and not least the voting public to contrast,as I once saw done with Nixon, the signature of the victor upon taking office with that of the broken man who will depart it in disgrace.

Posted by: 135east at June 3, 2010 6:14 PM

First name is personal, surname public. Both have oversized capital letters that indicate a feeling of superiority, forceful, proud or arrogant. The stem of the b in the surname extends past the upper zone area of the oversized O, indicating an imbalance of imagination verses reality; the pressure of the stem is light indicating an independent feminine touch. The B and O both cover 1/2 the remaining letters indicating protectiveness or a controling personality. Both names, public and private, connect indicating a Princess Diana conflict in wanting public attention and complaining when you get it.

I thought the B looked like a pair of boobs. As this was a formal doc, black is the legal color, but one imagines the writer would rather choose purple, a sign of self importance and superiority over others.

I know this is psuedoscience, but it is fun.

Posted by: Ralph at June 3, 2010 9:13 PM

Wonder what Michelle's signature looks like. Be fun to have a go at that one too.

Posted by: Connecticut Yankee at June 4, 2010 8:53 AM
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