Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


When the prez recently sent a note to MoJo columnist Paula Poundstone, we really needed to know the mettle of the man. So we asked the Graphological Society of San Francisco to examine his script–along with Hillary’s, who had written to us some time before. The experts’ report:

Bill’s writing shows that he’s a team player who listens to others. However, his baseline has a slight tendency to rise in midline and fall at the end, suggesting that he can lose steam in the course of a project.

These two can fight–his blunt endings and angles disclose anger that can manifest itself in petulance and pugnacity, while her occasional hooked T-bars and similarly blunt endings show that she too can let fly, often sarcastically.

Their lack of conventional lead-in strokes and embellishment, along with their relatively straight baselines, show their quick grasp of issues and no-nonsense, stable personalities.

Their well-proportioned personal pronouns (“I”) share slants consistent with the rest of their writings–a change from the overinflated, egotistical “I”‘s of most politicians.

The Society’s Karla Huebner summarized: “Both Clintons show vigorous intellects and critical thinking with their rapid, simplified writing. Bill’s doggedly connected, left-slanted script emphasizes the middle zone (letters such as ‘a’ and ‘m’) and lower zone (letters extending below the baseline). This indicates that while he is a steady, determined worker–even a bit of a slave driver–he’s also rooted in today and the physical world, concentrating on tasks at hand rather than on long-term planning. Hillary’s right-slanted writing is somewhat disconnected, with better zonal balance and the more common strong-weak pressure pattern. Her fluid, flexible cursive shows that she looks to the future. Her interests are more mental than physical; she’s a quicker thinker and more intuitive. With their high intelligence and common goals, they should work well together and accomplish a great deal.”

We also showed a graphology student the notes without names. He found a few more personality quirks: “[Bill] can be overwhelming . . . can get confused or into a confusing situation by trying to fit in too many items . . . has a good sex life, but maybe isn’t always satisfied. [Hillary] is not fond of crowds or boring people . . . not necessarily a solitary person, but certainly self-sufficient.” So . . . we’ll be typing all our correspondence from now on.

LET’S TALK ABOUT OPTIMISM FOR A CHANGE

Democracy and journalism are in crisis mode—and have been for a while. So how about doing something different?

Mother Jones did. We just merged with the Center for Investigative Reporting, bringing the radio show Reveal, the documentary film team CIR Studios, and Mother Jones together as one bigger, bolder investigative journalism nonprofit.

And this is the first time we’re asking you to support the new organization we’re building. In “Less Doing, More Dreading,” we lay it all out for you: why we merged, how we’re stronger together, why we’re optimistic about the work ahead, and why we need to raise the First $500,000 in online donations by June 22.

It won’t be easy. There are many exciting new things to share with you, but spoiler: Wiggle room in our budget is not among them. We can’t afford missing these goals. We need this to be a big one. Falling flat would be utterly devastating right now.

A First $500,000 donation of $500, $50, or $5 would mean the world to us—a signal that you believe in the power of independent investigative reporting like we do. And whether you can pitch in or not, we have a free Strengthen Journalism sticker for you so you can help us spread the word and make the most of this huge moment.

payment methods

LET’S TALK ABOUT OPTIMISM FOR A CHANGE

Democracy and journalism are in crisis mode—and have been for a while. So how about doing something different?

Mother Jones did. We just merged with the Center for Investigative Reporting, bringing the radio show Reveal, the documentary film team CIR Studios, and Mother Jones together as one bigger, bolder investigative journalism nonprofit.

And this is the first time we’re asking you to support the new organization we’re building. In “Less Doing, More Dreading,” we lay it all out for you: why we merged, how we’re stronger together, why we’re optimistic about the work ahead, and why we need to raise the First $500,000 in online donations by June 22.

It won’t be easy. There are many exciting new things to share with you, but spoiler: Wiggle room in our budget is not among them. We can’t afford missing these goals. We need this to be a big one. Falling flat would be utterly devastating right now.

A First $500,000 donation of $500, $50, or $5 would mean the world to us—a signal that you believe in the power of independent investigative reporting like we do. And whether you can pitch in or not, we have a free Strengthen Journalism sticker for you so you can help us spread the word and make the most of this huge moment.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate