Obama's guestbook entry at Yad Vashem- in his own handwriting

[Ichingcarpenter]

Here's what Barack Obama wrote in the guestbook at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial. You have to admit, the man has a way with words:

[Muttocracy]

1. Wow. nt

[Lochloosa]

17. Wow. n/t

[Zhade]

31. Wowsers, even.

NT!

[elehhhhna]

2. Lincolnesque.

[Coexist]

37. I concur.

[alphafemale]

82. You mean like this...?

[AspenRose]

3. I make my lower case Gs the same way

That's an impressive statement.

[Muttocracy]

13. He wrote the date the way I write mine - and more like the rest of the world does

(either day month year or year month day)

[AspenRose]

22. Me too

[Muttocracy]

23. I don't make cool g's though - gotta work on that!

[hisownpetard]

27. That's how I wrote it when I lived in Europe.

[Muttocracy]

42. I tend to do it from working in a lab; also from living in Canada for a while. nt

[BobTheSubgenius]

75. y/m/d is the way to go, in my opinion

Diminishing Order of Magnitude. I admit, it was a lot clearer before 2000, though. Even someone who had never seen it could figure it out.

[Muttocracy]

89. I have a computer programmer friend who insists on that

And I try to do it with file names (Report20080415.doc) so they sort in order of date. Nobody I work with does it, though, so it's just my quirk.

[FatDave]

104. I do the same and for the same reason

I'm also a programmer though. I believe YYYY-MM-DD is the ANSI standard date format. Once you go representing the month by name though, all bets are off. I propose we rearrange the months alphabetically so April comes first and September last.

[Muttocracy]

117. LOL! new months! none of this disorganized pagan Roman stuff :)

[gilpo]

107. you're not the only one

although I am the only one who does that in my company -a software company, no less- too.

[LiberalFighter]

116. Military and genealogists tend to write dates that way too.

[MonteLukast]

67. "figure-eight" small G's show intelligence and artistic sensibilities(nm)

[Whisp]

4. nice handwriting, any analysers around? nt

[roguevalley]

8. nice powerful and clear writing. Excellent for a leftie since teaching

lefties to write nicely is a lost art anymore. He is clear, vigorous and lyrical. A man of intelligence. Awesome.

RV, a teacher who taught the artistic method of writing for 25 years.

[Muttocracy]

24. it is nice to look at, isn't it!

[hisownpetard]

30. Aesthetically pleasing - and he's a lefty!

[MonteLukast]

68. So was Bill Clinton.

And Poppy Bush. And Ross Perot.(Who else?)

Lefties sure have become President a lot lately!

[Muttocracy]

90. lots of lefties - Newsweek had an article about hands, height, etc.:

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008...

HANDEDNESS:
Is it sinister? Or just the latest anatomical pattern in presidential politics? As Russell Berman reports in this morning's New York Sun, only "two presidents were known definitively to be left-handed: James Garfield and Harry Truman." Since then, however, "presidents Ford, Reagan*, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton have all favored their left hands, while President Carter and the current President Bush are righties." That's a 66 percent rate of presidential left-handedness in recent years--compared to only 10 percent in the population at large. Coincidence? Some experts think not. Melissa Roth, the author of "The Left Stuff: How the Left-Handed Have Survived and Thrived in a Right Handed World," argues that lefties realize early on that they're different from their peers and seek to distinguish themselves accordingly. "Their difference might be treated as a positive or a negative, a 'creative' asset or a failure to adapt," she told Berman. "But either way they are aware that they are 'special,' and that's a trait psychologists find in many leaders." So who has the upper hand? Neither McCain nor Obama, actually. Turns out they're both southpaws. What's more, the list of lefties who've lost the presidency in the past two decades (Bob Dole, John Edwards, Bill Bradley, Ross Perot) is as long as the list of winners. How gauche. Advantage: Tied.

[Jersey Devil]

34. Actually, lefties got fouled up by the teachers

When I was a kid we were forced to use fountain pens in school (the ones with refillable ink tanks inside them) to promote good penmanship. The problem is that there is no way a lefty (like myself) can write with a fountain pen without smearing the ink from left to right as you write, so lefties had to develop a very awkward way of holding a pen (almost upside down) so that their left hand would not pass over the wet ink as they wrote.

[hisownpetard]

35. Yes! I remember a girlfriend who was a lefty whose left hand was always blue from the tip of her

pinky right down to her wrist!

[dionysus]

38. in my moms day they made everyone write right-handed no matter what!!

40's -50's

[Jersey Devil]

41. Yep, my Mom was a lefty forced to write with her right hand as well

In Latin the word 'sinister' originally meant left handed but then became associated as evil or related to the Devil, so lefties were banned lest they became evil forces in the world.

[Muttocracy]

44. and dexter is right hand, isn't it? I remember learning about togas

not sure if the origin is right, but the way a toga was wrapped the left hand was more hidden - perfect for hiding a weapon.

NO idea if that's accurate though.

[central scrutinizer]

58. and sinister means left

another weird language/politics intersection

[Minimus]

99. My father as well - but he plays sports left handed

[roguevalley]

61. that's because those poor lefties didn't have a teacher tell them to

turn the paper the other way. They are writing on a right hand placed paper left handed. make sure the paper lays in the right direction and it will be fine. just tilt the paper in the other direction.

RV, who taught many lefties to write.

[MonteLukast]

65. I remember "lefty" and "righty" scissors when I was a kid

Now scissors are ambidextrous. They kind of look like a Mobius strip in cross-section, actually.

[kcass1954]

73. You were obviously not in Mrs. Patton's third grade class.

Rumor in the second grade was that Mrs. Patton was a witch and the meanest teacher in the entire school. I was really ticked off when I found out that I would be in her class.

That rumor turned out to be completely wrong, and she turned out to be my favorite teacher in elementary school. This woman worked so patiently to teach me to hold a pencil/pen so that I wouldn't drag my hand through what I had just written, and without twisting my arm and hand around.

[GreenEyedLefty]

88. That's why I prefer Pilot roller ball pens, the ink dries quickly

and I need that ability since I do not curl my hand when I write.

Ballpoints - nope. My hand and paper both end up a smeary mess.

[rebel with a cause]

114. I was fouled up by my envy of lefties.

At least that is what I blame for the fact that I cannot write straight across on a surface. The surface (paper) must be turned where I can write straight up or almost upside down. It almost kills me (my wrist at least) to have to sign on those screens for charges at some stores.

[happy5]

105. As a future physician, I am looking...

to improve my calligraphy a great deal. Docs are notorious for writing illegible notes, and beautiful handwriting is a lost art.

Anyone here knows of a good resources for self-learning/practicing calligraphy? My time is kind of limited and cannot seem to find private teachers.

By the way, I agree Obama's handwriting is very good. Considering the idiotic era we have lived in for the past 8 years, Obama is poised to literally change the world.

[hisownpetard]

14. Yes - and this handwriting sample is extraordinary, not only for the traits it shows him to possess

but for those it shows him not to possess, as well.

Anyone who calls him a "dreamer" is completely inaccurate. (A person who has his head in the clouds
would cross his 't's at the top or even above the top of the letter. Obama doesn't do that even once in an entire page of writing).

What it does show is a person who is extremely well-balanced in all three zones of his life. The upper zone (h, t, l, etc.) which indicates
cerebral activities is perfectly balanced by the extent of the lower zone (g,y, etc.), which involves physical activities, and the
middle zone letters (which involve daily or mundane matters) are also in keeping with the proper proportions.

He can keep a secret! (ALL his 'o' letters are closed!)
He doesn't lie - not to others, and not to himself. (This is an extremely rare trait, especially since it carries through the entire page,
without exception. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen this before).

He is not paranoid.
He doesn't have a sarcastic bone in his body.
He does not jump to conclusions but prefers to gather information, consider, and then make his decision.
He is determined but not stubborn.
He has a healthy self-image and is strongly grounded.
He is optimistic.
He does not waste time but is efficient in both his thinking and his actions.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional but have taken courses in Graphology and do it as a hobby.
Since handwriting is controlled by the brain (not the hand!), everyone's is different, and everyone's handwriting changes over the years.
However, many/most basic character traits show themselves consistently throughout a person's life.

I am more convinced than ever that Obama is a phenomenal choice to be our nominee and to begin to change and heal our country.

[Whisp]

18. thanks so much , wonderful post! can i ask what shows he 'doesn't lie'?

great job.
i'm going to reread it a few times.

isn't it strange that most of those traits are somthing he has already shown us and now they are sort of confirmed by his handwriting. spooky! in a good way!

[hisownpetard]

26. Thanks! I am so thrilled to see his handwriting because it confirms that all the good things I see

in Obama are not a facade or some kind of behavior he adopted to 'sell' himself to the American people.
He IS what he seems - highly intelligent, honest (!), sincere, efficient, grounded, determined, optimistic and extremely well-balanced.

What more could we ask for??

P.S. The "o" letters - which represent the mouth - are where you look to determine if a person is lying or telling the truth.
Take, for example, the small "a."
If there's a loop in the left side of the 'a' (on the top), it shows that the person lies to him/herself.
The number of times a person does this within a given sample of writing indicates how prevalent this trait is.
Most people do it at least some of the time ("I don't think it shows that I've gained 10 lbs.")

If there's a loop in the right side of the 'a' (on the top), it shows that the person lies to him/herself.
This could be something as innocent or well-meaning as "The meatloaf was delicious, dear."

Both of these are very common. What's UNcommon is to see someone whose 'o's and 'a's are whole, without 'taking away' any part of them
or any part of the truth.

I'm so excited to have him as President!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MonteLukast]

71. Related: Do you have any old videos of "Knots Landing"?

One episode stands out in my mind for creepy handwriting.

In the episode "For Appearance's Sake", from the 1986-1987 season, Karen has just escaped from a kidnapping, and a florist delivery service shows up at her house with a big basket of roses, and a card reading: "You won't get away next time, Mrs. Mackenzie."

The handwriting by the kidnapper had lowercase letters increasing in size left to right, uneven baseline (emotional instability and violent temper?), same letters written different ways (dishonesty?) and a bit of pastiness (more temper). Even for the few seconds it was shown, even factoring in the accompanying music, it creeped me out.

[hisownpetard]

94. I've never seen "Knot's Landing" but that does sound like a very weird "sample."

[yardwork]

21. Thank you for that analysis!

As I read it, I thought, "He has nice handwriting." It's good to know that the analysis reflects that as well.

[hisownpetard]

32. Another trait of his - strong desire to communicate (indicated by the fact that the handwriting

is well-formed and legible).

[Muttocracy]

45. that's what I took - styled but no problem reading it. I try for readable

but my handwriting would never be considered pretty!

[Ichingcarpenter]

25. Can you comment on B*sh's Handwriting commenting on the 2004 tsunami

A note signed by former United States Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, First Lady Laura Bush, and President George W. Bush expressing their condolences during a visit to the embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington, D.C., Monday, January 3, 2005. The President wrote, “We pray for the victims and families of this epic disaster. And the American government and American people are dedicated to helping you recover.”

[hisownpetard]

33. I think this is a forgery. Bush only writes in crayon!!!!!

[Hutzpa]

54. lol!

bwahahahahaha!!!

[alfredo]

63. bush wrote in crayon at the Holocaust museum these words:

Sorry 'bout my grand dad.

Ha Ha

Jest kiddin


George

[snowbear]

78. Ok Alfredo... too funny!

.....

[hisownpetard]

95. I rest my case.

[alfredo]

101. Love that image, but he's staying inside the lines.

[Hutzpa]

55. Thank you for this insight

this shows us all what we already know about the man.....

what a breath of fresh air he is....would love to be in

his company and I know we will have a ball...

[hisownpetard]

93. You're welcome. I enjoyed it!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

60. I have studied it and and am an amateur as well.... The first

thing that popped out to me - relatively straight up and and down. He is not living in the past nor is he in the future - he lives in the here and now.

His mingling of cursive and printing is a sign of high intelligence. It is a very free flowing, unconventional, efficient way to write.

After seeing his handwriting -- I feel even more confident that he
is not deceptive and is the real deal.

[hisownpetard]

96. The slant of a person's handwriting indicates the emotional state of mind. Leaning far

to the right shows a very emotional person; to the left, a more introverted person who tends to keep
their guard up and keeps people at a distance.

Straight up and down (Obama's)? Calm, cool and collected. Keeps his head about him in emergencies, thinks
things out.

Again, perfect balance.

GOBAMA!

[Eyes_wide_ open]

62. Thanks so much for your analysis

I haven't studied the subject, but I have read a bit about it albeit a long while back. While I was looking at it, before I'd read the comments, I was musing about what it might show us about the man. I was thrilled to see we had a analyst among us, amateur or not.

I'm pleased that your analysis confirms my gut reaction to our candidate's vibe. My conscious mind tends to be rather analytical and is not very trusting and has challenged my instincts, as experience tells me to trust NO politician LOL. Glad to see the instincts have some backup.

[hisownpetard]

97. Your instincts were right, E_w_o. He's our guy!

[Amy6627]

5. What a wonderful man! I can't wait to have a president that can communicate

with such grace, dignity and intelligence again!

[elehhhhna]

6. Compare & contrast with this famous George Bush note:

[my2sense]

7. Oh stop it - - LOL

[Whisp]

9. o geeeeeze. lol.

some of you are way better than Jay Leno.

[progressoid]

12. I don't know whether to laugh or cry

January 20th can't come soon enough.

[Faygo Kid]

20. Extraordinary that he spelled "bathroom" properly. But it's still illiterate.

Why the question mark after "bathroom break?" Was he not sure whether he needed one or not?

Clown can't even write a coherent note to take a leak.

[Hutzpa]

56. You guys need a new job

a stand up comedian.....

you guys are killing me tonite.

[goclark]

59. That is a Bingo! nt

[elehhhhna]

10. LOLL the FoxNoose Blog says that was his SPEECH...but it wasn't.

He read one sentence from it, after he wrote it, to open his speech, but it was not his speech. They don't mention that he wrote it. The vid of his speech is readily available.

LIARS!

[Cha]

11. I know he does because I've read the

first book he wrote, "Dreams from My Father", but that was a while ago and he keeps learning more about the world and getting better and better.

This trip has been incredibly invaluble to all of us.

[hisownpetard]

16. It's the icing on the cake. I couldn't be any more excited to see him take his oath of office

in January 2009!

[Danger Mouse]

15. Beautiful.

What a great man.

[Muttocracy]

19. he doesn't even need lined paper to be neat - but not obsessively neat :)

[hisownpetard]

29. Funny thing is, when you ask someone to give you a writing sample (to analyze), you always

give them a piece of unlined paper - because the slant of the lines and the space a person puts between them
are also traits to take notice of.

Obama's go slightly up (indicating optimism), and the amount of space he leaves between lines is not too much, not too little.
Again - perfectly balanced.

Also, his margins are perfect. People who write all the way to the end of the paper are poor planners.
People who leave no margin on the left are often willing to disregard society's rules.

[ThatsMyBarack]

28. Remarkable!

Says a lot and is easy to read!

[BlooInBloo]

36. Christ - I bet he even shits this stuff too - it really isn't fair...

He must've taken like 12 people's helping of 'talent' when god was passing it out. I wonder if they could sue?

EDIT: Typo.

[babylonsister]

39. Now that's funny.

He does have many talents, doesn't he?!

[Muttocracy]

46. don't hate him because his handwriting is beautiful!

but yeah, looks, brains, nice, and politically clever? not fair.

[CatBO]

40. I love this man...

Love him, love him, LOVE HIM...

[glitch]

43. Holy crap again with the tears. Thanks for posting. K & R nt

[me b zola]

47. K&R

[AzDar]

48. K & R

[DeepModem Mom]

49. K&R

[shireen]

50. eloquent words!

heart-felt.
he understands the depth of human tragedy. he really really gets it.

i want a commander-in-chief who understands what it means to lose a loved one, and understand the impact of that loss when it's multiplied 6 million times. or more than 4000 times. or any large numbers associated with genocide and war and injustice.

[mckara]

51. That Feller Has a Way with Words...

Refreshing, isn't it?!?

[gateley]

52. Another wow. Moving. nt

[Hutzpa]

53. That from the top of his head

Absolutely amazing, just plain brilliant...

[kimmylavin]

102. I know!

I MIGHT be able to come up with something as powerful, but not without a rough draft, and I'd probably still wind up with a scratch-out or two!

Oh, it'll be so nice to have a President I can look up to!

[Dystopian]

57. Thank you, KandR

This is awesome. I'm in tears.
Just restored my faith in him again...
I keep going back and forth ...to and fro..pro and con..just the way it is.
Sometimes he has my heart. Other days just my vote.
peace~

[Eyes_wide_ open]

64. Again, WOW

It's so COOL that we won't have to be embarrassed anymore :happydance:

Articulate, intelligent, and what's best of HUMAN ... that's our guy!

[David Zephyr]

66. Yad Vashem: Like Obama, May every child could visit there. I will never forget it as long as I live.

Yad Vashem breaks your heart and quietly teaches one a lot about our species...evil and good.

Never again.

[Blondiegrrl]

69. That's beautiful. He's quite eloquent. n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

70. Highly recommended!

[berni_mccoy]

72. wow.

[jillan]

74. This was read several times on msnbc tonite.

Wow - what an impressive message!

[Sunnyshine]

76. Even his hand writting rocks! It's very presidential and his genuine warmth came across powerfully.

Thanks for posting this. Saved and forwarded.

[jazzjunkysue]

77. What OMomma said. n/t.

[Waiting For Everyman]

79. Obama's great-uncle was among the G.I.s who liberated Buchenwald

I didn't know that until I saw this article today by accident on the AP site...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMAS_WWII_UNCL...

It makes the McCain "never again" comment yesterday seem all the more hurtful, considering that.

I see in Obama a magnanimous spirit, and that only comes from the best kind of genuine strength. Regardless of anything else, he is a rare and amazing person. (And that's just what we need right about now too.)

[crimsonblue]

80. I feel proud as an American that this happened on my birthday...

July 23rd, 2008 shall go down as the day that Barack Obama defeated John McCain for the office of President of the United States. Yeah, be jealous.

[hisownpetard]

98. Happy birthday, crimsonblue!

[rontun]

81. Obama makes one proud to be an American

Observing him on his trip this week one can't help but see the potential greatness in the man. He's a natural leader, buoyed by intelligence and thoughtfulness. What a wonderful departure from the idiot who's occupied 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the past 7+ years. I've posted a gallery of photos from his Israeli trip at http://www.laconiademocrats.org - grateful that he's given us so many reasons to be Fired Up and Ready to Go!

[Loudmxr]

83. I was going to write something snarky about Prager and Medved but you DUers shamed me

Barak will make a fine president. His words touched me. As did yours. The world sees upon its stage a great American. If only we could do the same at home.

Not that I trust him. That is not our job as patriots. But he'll do fine.

[wilt the stilt]

84. W's Statement

See Jane run

[lolamio]

85. Wow. That brought tears to my eyes - beautiful. n/t

[Hope And Change]

86. K & R!

[paparush]

87. I'v e seen more broken links on DU this week than in the past year.

What gives people?

Hotlinking?

Get a photobucket account and point to that instead.

[racaulk]

91. Wow.

Just wow.

K&R

[lebkuchen]

92. Obama has received the endorsement of Eva Schloss, holocaust survivor

and posthumous step-sister of Anne Frank. It's on you-tube. Frau Schloss will be moved by this entry. Her beloved father and very talented brother (painter, poet, musician) died in Auschwitz.

[Bluenorthwest]

100. Yad Vashem knocks a feeling person to the curb

I was there over 30 years ago and it is still one of the most important days of my life. I was very happy that Obama visited, as it is a place of great impact.

[kay1864]

103. Beautiful words indeed. But really, they PALE in comparison to George W. Bush's writings:

[rniel]

106. Can you imagine

What Bush's letter would look like hmmmm...

[LuckyLib]

110. Bush's would look like this:

X

[paparush]

108. Bush's Guestbook Entry -

"Why didn't ya'll put the bathroom closer to the gate? And how come there's no American Flag pins for sale in the gift shop?"

[Lochloosa]

109. This deserves another kick

[Tab]

111. As opposed to Bush's entry

"Heh heh, good to see you Israelian Jewsers made this place. Ah know it's hard work. It's hard... hard work.

Hey, have you seen what those arabs are doing in Dubai? Maybe you kin do that too.

G. W. President"

[MarinCoUSA]

112. Thank you Mr. Obama for your thoughtful and inspiring words. n/t

n/t

[HowHasItComeToThis]

113. IT WILL BE SO NICE TO HAVE AN ADULT AS PRESIDENT AGAIN

[question everything]

115. Can someone please transcribe this?

I am having hard time focusing my tired old eyes..