Last week a reporter from The Atlantic asked me to review the signatures of the top GOP candidates for the Republican candidate for president of the United States. I pleaded with the reporter to allow me to use full samples of handwriting and not just signatures on baseballs… but reporters don’t really need a full “analysis,” they just want a snapshot and a quick bit for an article on deadline. Please add your notes in the comments section below. And, try to keep your political opinions out of the conversation… this is a handwriting analysis and about personality… not a forum for political ideals. Please add any links to better samples of more handwriting of any particular handwriting, in the comments section.
Herman Caine — his handwriting actually looks like the handwriting of an older man with some health issues. At the time he wrote this signature, he seemed to be annoyed and even moderately depressed. However, in all fairness, writing on a baseball that goes in a circular motion could easily force your baseline tilt downward… that is the grapho-logical sign of depression. So, I have no idea why he chose to write the number’s 999; perhaps that is his baseball jersey number in his fictional baseball league. His most positive trait is his strong determination. His slow writing ability concerns me… this normally is a pre-cursor to serious health issues or sluggish thinking in old age.
John Huntsman — John is one of the quickest and most intellectual of the candidates. He is a fluid thinker with a sharp mind. He has persistence and strong leadership skills. His ambition is well placed and supports a healthy self-esteem. He has good focus, good concentration and he normally has something to say and a witty comeback;… he is sharp. Of all the candidates, he seems the most down to earth and interesting. I’d probably like to hang out and have a drink with this guy.
Michele Bachmann — Michele lets her emotions rule much of her behavior, which leads to emotional reactions and perhaps to making statements she later regrets. She has an analytical mind and can be fluid in her verbal arguments and conversations. Her ego has a desperate need for attention which can also be interpreted as her being someone who likes the limelight and yearns for fame. If this trait were found in a single woman, she could be considered flirtatious. She’s generally optimistic, diplomatic, emotional and a smooth talker. She has moderate intelligence compared to some of the other candidate,… who are borderline geniuses.
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Mitt Romney — Mitt is probably one of the quickest thinkers and possesses the largest ego among the GOP candidates. He has the fastest intellectual ability to process information – thus, he is rarely at a loss for words and makes decisions very quickly. The downside to such quick processing of information and decision-making is that many times he doesn’t have time or make time to dig deeply for all of the facts. So, if Mitt Romney surrounds himself with a top-notch research team that gives him reliable facts, he’ll probably make intelligent decisions. He has two other traits that correspond with over achiever; he has enthusiasm (energy to sell his ideas) and he has mental and physical determination to fight through obstacles that would stall a weaker-willed person. He has the energy to work the kind of hours required to be president. He also has intense focus to solve problems.. The only negative side to his high goals and ambition is that his ego and ambition are often ‘unreachable’ and ‘not grounded in reality’. But, in the history of the world, great achievements have often been ridiculed as impossible and Mitt doesn’t really believe in “impossible.”
* As I re-read Mitt’s analysis, one might believe that I am a fan or supporter of him. I am not. I am a fan of successful people with high self-esteem. I will not be voting for him despite his powerful and impressive handwriting analysis.
Newt Gingrich — Newt Gingrich has a signature that is illegible. One couldn’t even decipher what his name really is. In all fairness, if my parents named me Newt, perhaps I would scribble it out as well. However, grapho-logically speaking, … illegible writing signifies sneakiness and impatience.
People who do not sign their name legibly usually have an enormous ego and a fear of people finding out who they really are. This is the most “generalized” personality trait that I opine on - a regular basis – and I know it has many exceptions. The writer will argue he is always in a hurry or simply must sign his name hundreds of times a day. Regardless, I still trust these people less initially, until proven trustworthy at a later date.
Newt’s handwriting is very sloppy, unorganized, and angular. This type of writing indicates argumentativeness and aggressiveness. Overall, this chicken-scratch writing is not a style that impresses me very much as a handwriting expert looking for emotional clues of emotional stability, ethics, and or level – headed thinking.
The tilt of the baseline upwards indicates overall optimism. I just see someone who wants to get on with it, push people out of the way and argue his opinion.
Rick Santorum — Rick Santorum’s signature is actually quite aesthetically pleasing. It has a steady rhythm which implies maturity. It has a fluid motion in the R and the S, which implies the ability to go from one topic to the next. He does have determination. He is intelligent. Not quite as intelligent as Mitt Romney, but this is one of the more balanced candidates and he has reasonable, practical goals. I think this is one of the most grounded of the candidates whom we’re looking at today.
Rick Perry — Ricky Perry decided not to sign the baseball at all. Rick Perry decided to print his name. Maybe he doesn’t sign his name in cursive? or maybe he just doesn’t want to participate in the assignment at hand. So, his printing would imply that he is going to write print? his name on the ball and, bend the rules. Printing, as usual, says “I’m not going to reveal anything deep and personal about my life.” Most of these candidates have no idea that their signatures reveal something scientific, but most of them have an idea that people will save this and cherish it. Rick just didn’t seem to care whether or not people had his signature.
Ron Paul — Ron Paul’s handwriting shows a shaky and slow penmanship. Now, this could be related to declining health, and is often seen as a natural by-product of old age. Shakiness or tremor in handwriting normally is a pre-cursor to serious health issues or sluggish thinking in old age.
The traits that reveal themselves in the signature are bluntness and bold talkativeness, honesty, straightforwardness with his opinions, and an authentic personality—what you see is what you do get. This is most refreshing from a political candidate. It is also a trait that usually doesn’t win election, as brutal honesty eventually alienates some portion of the voting public.
This type of personal transparency is the dead opposite of Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich’s signature is illegible, fast, impatient, and rapid. Ron Paul’s is methodical, clear headed, intentional.
So, despite his age and any risk that is associated with old age in a candidate, Ron Paul does seem to be the most transparent and ethical of all of the candidates.
One should note that any discussion of politics and ethics is filled with land-mines because of the varying definitions of “ethics.” It is a very difficult discussion that few can win unless someone is caught in a bald- faced lie, scandal, or is revealed to be a cheating spouse. But personality – wise, it is my belief that transparency, talkativeness, candidness, bluntness, and lack of secretiveness are traits that- push an individual toward authenticity. Having a strong ethical foundation is a good starting point for all of the challenges, secrecy, strategies, and ethical quandaries that one must be handle in the Oval Office. Handwriting analysis is not a perfect predictor of someone’s core values, nor can it perfectly predict how someone will react when faced with a moral quandary; it can only point at a likely outcome, depending on how damaged, reactive, or ego-maniacal the personality really is.
As stated in a previous conversation with the writer, a more accurate and comprehensive personally profile of all of these candidates could be ascertained with a broader handwriting sample that – includes all 26 letters of alphabet and writing done at different times. As a professional psychological profiler through handwriting, I have over 140 traits to choose from; the baseball signature often shows me two to – five reliable strokes. I believe those two to five personality traits to be accurate, but by no means comprehensive.
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Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew has signed an otherwise dry memo with his 
Over the holidays, I got to see my now almost grown niece and nephews wield their touch screens and Twitter accounts in ways far beyond my middle aged comprehension, to the point where I asked: do these kids even need to know how to use pen and paper any more?
