Bush – He is Not the Village Idiot

“Somewhere in Texas a Village is Missing its Idiot” Popular lefty bumper sticker

The left has portrayed President Bush as the Village Idiot. A stumbling, shallow, irritable know nothing. I am certainly guilty of this. Triumph the Insult Dog (in a popular web movie) congratulated one of Bush’s handlers for cleverly changing strategies in the 2nd debate from stuttering to stammering. Cute.

Let’s face it, we all want to think the opposition is composed of idiots and W. does have a way with words. However, I think the left is delusional if they believe W. is the idiot they make him out to be. This President may not be articulate and may not do all of his homework but he is no dope. Democrats can underestimate Bush until he personally dumps us into the ash can of history. We are the ones who lost the Whitehouse along with seats in the Senate and the House. How smart is Bush? Smart enough to make a case that appealed to the American public earning him a clear majority of the votes. W. may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but from where I am sitting he looks a whole lot sharper we do.

If we are going to effect change in America we need drop the myth that we are dealing with an idiot. We also need to drop the myth that the religious right is composed of idiots. I spend hours with these people every week and they are at least as smart as we are. If we are going to engage in dialog it must start with that modicum of respect that first assumes we are speaking with our intellectual equals. Perhaps we need to throw in just a smidge of humility.

For what its worth, Andrew Sullivan found this piece in the NY Times on Bush’s intelligence:

Mr. Bush's score on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test at age 22 again suggests that his I.Q was the mid-120's, putting Mr. Bush in about the 95th percentile of the population, according to Mr. Sailer. Mr. Kerry's I.Q. was about 120, in the 91st percentile, according to Mr. Sailer's extrapolation of his score at age 22 on the Navy Officer Qualification Test.