I think part of the reason people make fun of George Bush for being “dumb” is because he, simply put, comes across that way. On a purely superficial level, based on looks, facial expressions, body language, and speech, he simply does not come across as a very bright man. (Some have accused him of cultivating this image for political advantage, but that can be discussed elsewhere.)
Am I wrong about this? Anyone agree/disagree? I want to be very clear that I am NOT in any way talking about Bush’s politics here, or even more relevantly, his ACTUAL level of intelligence, whatever it may be. After all, some very smart people can come across as being dumb, and vice versa. And I really don’t think, on this level, the impression is based on politics either – Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condaleeza Rice, and any number of Republicans strike me as being very intelligent people, even if I disagree with some of their views. (And on a personal level, I don’t think it’s Bush’s Southern accent that gives the impression [having been partly raised in the South myself], though that may play a part in some people’s impressions.)
Well, you don’t get to be President, Governor, owner of a base ball team, and own a little bit of oil by being completely stupid. Yes, in his case, family helps. But it’s up to him to keep it, and hold it down. And so far, he’s surrounded himself with people to help him achieve this. It might not be working for America, Iraq, or the world, but it’s working for him. Kind of like CEO’s of large companies. Take advantage of everyone else, surround yourself with success, and watch the $$ roll in.
I’m not a Bush fan. I find him unbelievably inarticulate. Not only does he mangle words, but his sentences are simple, short, and have a repetitious rythym to them.
I am not sure how much this reflects on his intelligence. Sometimes I feel as though he has a complex thought in his head that he just can’t get out. It must be frustrating to him.
For example, I am sure that he has something in mind about how invading Iraq has some larger geo-political significance, but when he opens his mouth we only hear 9/11, terrorists, don’t cut and run.
I don’t think he’s quite as dumb as he appears to be, but he is indeed exceedingly inarticulate and is nearly always wearing a dopey grin or smirk. It’s quite hard to measure, you really can’t go by college grades because rich kids like him and Kerry had no incentives to study hard. You really can’t go by his business career since it was essentially given to him. I say give him an IQ test.
It is almost never one single trait that creates an image of how one is typically perceived. As a whole, Bush often appears to be less than intelligent as a result of his speach patterns and errors of phrase. His cadence and facial timing is a bit out of sync. He emphasises points in a way in which the listener is meant to believe to be self evident and trivial when in reality they are wide open to questions and examination.
All that said, he must have sufficient popular appeal to draw a significant enough number of votes and public support. He also seems to be thick skinned and humble enough to be the lightning rod for much of the personal attacks leveled against the Republican party while the real thinkers in his administration slip under the radar with sufficient frequency to push ahead with their agenda.
Re-read my OP. The point is not whether or not Bush IS stupid, it’s about whether or not he APPEARS to be, regardless of actual IQ. I’m saying he does come across that way, based on the superficial things I listed (facial expressions, speech, etc.). On THAT level do you agree/disagree?
He has two major problems with his speaking: First off, when he tries to cultivate that “I’m one of you”, populist mien, he fails because we all know that he is not one of us. He is, for better or worse, a person of privilege, and as such he is not believable. That hurts him as far as the second point, and that is that his handlers set him up to be condescending to the people he is speaking to. You can’t be a good ol’ boy and at the same time be an authority figure.
As a result, he seems slow and folksy, and people identify that as the stereotypical dumb Southerner, and the truth is that while he really is anything but dumb he comes off that way without realizing it. I’d say that “oblivious” would be a better description.
I beg your pardon, but I am convinced that Harry Truman was dumber than a bag of hammers. In many, many ways, I see strong similarities between Truman and Dubya.
My impression is that he is contemptuous of the public, talks down to folks, puts on his Aww Shucks Ma’am act, and thinks he is considerably smarter than most folks and thinks he has us fooled; that in actuality he really isn’t very much smarter than he pretends to be, but is a whole lot meaner and obsessed with getting his own way.
Think of a duller Richard Nixon pretending to be Gomer Pyle.
If you see old footage of W say back when he was helping his dad run for various offices his speech pattern was very different. He was fast talking and aggresive, much diffenent than today. I think that he was taught to be presidential in his speech years later. His slip ups are his brain trying to fight back against what it was taught. Also being a good public speaker is a talent. Some of it can be taught, some of it can’t. Clinton had it Bush doesn’t.
I think it was in Fahrenheit 9/11, there was some old footage of W. Bush when he was an oil executive, and although the narration didn’t call attention to it, he seemed much more articulate.
Whether he’s changed on purpose or what, I can’t say. But the difference was very noticeable.
Truman’s aw-shucks patter was genuine, though. From what I’ve read, I never got the impression he was dumb, but perhaps uncouth compared to the aristocratic FDR.
Anyway, don’t underestimate Truman. MacArthur did, and it wasn’t pretty.
Didn’t Richard Clarke wrote in Against All Enemies about the differences between GWB’s leadership style and Bill Clinton’s leadership style? Something about Bush preferring to get quick oral summaries of the issues, while Clinton preferred in-depth written reports – and went out of his way to do additional research so he could grill you even further.
That anecdote is buzzing around my noggin right now…
Yeah, he appears subnormal to me. I think it’s mostly a combination of the apparent difficulty he has in getting through a prepared speech without tripping over his tongue and the way he pauses after reading each sentence to grin and look around as if for approval.
His speechmaking style reminds me of a man making an uncomfortably long and embarrassing toast after drinking too much at a wedding reception. He may be on message, but he seems impaired.
Yeah, but Truman didn’t outsmart MacArthur. Truman had an expansive view of presidential power that MacArthur deeply insulted. Heck, MacArthur outplayed Truman every step of the way – right up until he lost his job! But, it doesn’t take a smart man to fire someone.
