# Is Jeb! really the smarter brother? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 27, 2015, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034 "2015-08-27T06:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/21 "2015-08-27T16:34:37Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > I have a vague recollection of an article written by a GWB-era intern or low-level aide who said that he was surprisingly (and exceptionally) sharp-witted in person, not at all folksy or bumbling, and if he got angry with someone in a meeting he could cut them down in a single sentence. Not at all the cringe-worthy buffoon we saw in public. Thats pretty much the recollection of everyone who has dealt with him from what I have read. Karl ROve himself stated that the folksiness was an act. > [@](#): > > The impression the author had of him was that he would have made an excellent leader of a large company where he could make executive decisions himself, but as a president he was crippled by the relationships he had with his powerful cronies in his administration. Going over the books of the man himself and his subordinates, its amazing how many times his insticnt was right, only for him to then be “guided” by his advisors. Gaza, Climate Change, stem cell research. The one unimpeachable success of his administration, support for AIDS medication in Africa was one where he made the decision himself and no one had any interest in trying to talk him out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/22 "2015-08-27T16:40:54Z")
I dunno, here. This all starts to sound like the praise for Nixon’s statesmanship and steely resolve against Communism, ca. 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Construct](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Construct](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Construct)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/23 "2015-08-28T00:40:47Z")
Jeb Bush read _The Bell Curve_? I might just have to consider voting for him. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/24 "2015-08-28T02:48:36Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I used to joke that Jeb’s bumper-sticker motto would be > _I’m not as dumb as my older brother!_ but it’s lookin like Dubya was the smarter one after all. > > Latest joke is that to appeal both to his Hispanic supporters and to anti-immigration folks he’s blaming Asians for the “anchor baby” problem. > _Don’t deport you ♫ and don’t deport me ♫ Deport that baby behind that tree. ♫♫_ Other Jeb! gems: > [ul][li] Rising health-care costs are not a problem. Within five years his Apple Watch will be managing his health care.[/li][li] Murray’s _Bell Curve_ helps guide his thinking on black problems.[/li][li]Hawthorne’s _Scarlet Letter_ helps guide his thinking on sexual morality (though he draws conclusions opposite from Hawthorne. :smack: )[/li][/ul] > Any other contributions? > > I don’t support Trump’s Great Wall of Texas but [was intrigued to learn Jeb! thinks it will cost “hundreds of billions of dollars.”](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/opinion/jeb-bush-visita-la-frontera.html) In fact, prices estimates for the best fences average only $4 million per mile. Is Jeb! just one of these dolts who throws in a “literally” or “exponentially” when trying to impress, but “exponentially” is too hard to pronounce, so he throws in “hundreds of”? Do we know how he pronounces “nuclear?” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/25 "2015-08-28T02:50:16Z")
Which one was the smartest Stooge? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/26 "2015-08-28T03:30:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Which one was the smartest Stooge? Moe knows! > **[Moe Knows...](http://randomretro.blogspot.com/2012/04/moe-knows.html)** > > ...lots of things, apparently! This is a t-shirt I wore in the early 90's. I still have it! :) It's a play on "Bo Knows", a Nike catchphrase... T-shirt from the early 90’s. It’s a play on “Bo Knows”, a Nike catchphrase associated with Bo Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/27 "2015-08-28T03:36:30Z")
Haven’t seen anything to recommend Jeb. Forced to choose, I’d vote Trump over Jeb. I’d vote Hillary over Jeb. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/28 "2015-08-28T04:26:30Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > I have a vague recollection of an article written by a GWB-era intern or low-level aide who said that he was surprisingly (and exceptionally) sharp-witted in person, not at all folksy or bumbling, and if he got angry with someone in a meeting he could cut them down in a single sentence. Not at all the cringe-worthy buffoon we saw in public. Wow, so he was actually like that old SNL sketch with Reagan? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/29 "2015-08-28T13:41:52Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Wow is right. I wish that guy had been our two-term president. Yeah, but would Americans want to have a beer with him? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/30 "2015-08-28T14:49:23Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > I have a vague recollection of an article written by a GWB-era intern or low-level aide who said that he was surprisingly (and exceptionally) sharp-witted in person, not at all folksy or bumbling, and if he got angry with someone in a meeting he could cut them down in a single sentence. Not at all the cringe-worthy buffoon we saw in public. The impression the author had of him was that he would have made an excellent leader of a large company where he could make executive decisions himself, but as a president he was crippled by the relationships he had with his powerful cronies in his administration. And then there is the commentary of his first Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill, who [said](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/09/oneill.bush/index.html) that Bush “was like a blind man in a roomful of deaf people” during Cabinet meetings and failed to engage him with any questions when they met one-on-one. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/31 "2015-08-28T15:02:30Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > I have a vague recollection of an article written by a GWB-era intern or low-level aide who said that he was surprisingly (and exceptionally) sharp-witted in person, not at all folksy or bumbling, and if he got angry with someone in a meeting he could cut them down in a single sentence. Not at all the cringe-worthy buffoon we saw in public. The impression the author had of him was that he would have made an excellent leader of a large company where he could make executive decisions himself, but as a president he was crippled by the relationships he had with his powerful cronies in his administration. Well, one of his advisors, [Keith Hennessy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Hennessey), says [George W. Bush is smarter than you.](http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/) What gets me is: > [@](#): > > For more than six years it was my job to help educate President Bush about complex economic policy issues and to get decisions from him on impossibly hard policy choices. :dubious: Yes, well, Dr. Hennessy, if he actually listened to you and acted on your advice about economic policy, I’m not too impressed with your brains either. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/32 "2015-08-28T17:41:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well, one of his advisors, [Keith Hennessy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Hennessey), says [George W. Bush is smarter than you.](http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/) What gets me is: > > :dubious: Yes, well, Dr. Hennessy, if he actually listened to you and acted on your advice about economic policy, I’m not too impressed with your brains either. I believe that the common retort is, “That article fails to take into account all of the stupid, stupid decisions he made while in office.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/33 "2015-08-28T17:51:47Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > ( spits Cheerios ) Wha-huh-blah what now? > > He was best portrayed on “Li’ Bush” by running into the cabinets with a pot on his head. I think the whole Terry Schiavo thingy would still paint him as an idiot. Not an idiot. Just a hopeless panderer. He was having some polling issues and decided that a major role in the biggest conservative news story of the day would shore up his Bible-thumping credentials. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/34 "2015-08-28T18:12:33Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Wow, so he was actually like that old SNL sketch with Reagan? My thoughts exactly. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/35 "2015-08-28T18:40:52Z")
As I pointed before in another thread, I wondered why is that Republicans want to tell others about how smart Bush was. It is really making Bush the lesser to deserve even worse titles that historians had given him so far. The choice for historians was that bush the lesser was either an incompetent and dumb guy about what to expect in Iraq; or that he was really smart, that he knew what to expect and he did not care anyhow; so he lied to the American people to benefit the corporations and oil companies involved in the future “reconstruction”. So instead of being a mental midget that deserves our pity the recent efforts to point at him as a smart guy only tell me that Bush II was indeed a rat bastard that deserves to have his ass hauled to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/36 "2015-08-28T19:51:02Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > As I pointed before in another thread, I wondered why is that Republicans want to tell others about how smart Bush was. It is really making Bush the lesser to deserve even worse titles that historians had given him so far. > > The choice for historians was that bush the lesser was either an incompetent and dumb guy about what to expect in Iraq; or that he was really smart, that he knew what to expect and he did not care anyhow; so he lied to the American people to benefit the corporations and oil companies involved in the future “reconstruction”. > > So instead of being a mental midget that deserves our pity the recent efforts to point at him as a smart guy only tell me that Bush II was indeed a rat bastard that deserves to have his ass hauled to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. They may be banking on the premise that the US electorate have the political attention span of a flea. They may be right. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/37 "2015-08-29T14:54:31Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Other Jeb! gems: > [ul] > [li] Murray’s _Bell Curve_ helps guide his thinking on black problems.[/li] > [/ul] I’m not sure how Jeb! demonstrating his ability to dog whistle constitutes evidence for his stupidity. Evidence for other reasons for not voting for him, sure… ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/38 "2015-08-29T15:15:57Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > As I pointed before in another thread, I wondered why is that Republicans want to tell others about how smart Bush was. It is really making Bush the lesser to deserve even worse titles that historians had given him so far. > > The choice for historians was that bush the lesser was either an incompetent and dumb guy about what to expect in Iraq; or that he was really smart, that he knew what to expect and he did not care anyhow; so he lied to the American people to benefit the corporations and oil companies involved in the future “reconstruction”. > > So instead of being a mental midget that deserves our pity the recent efforts to point at him as a smart guy only tell me that Bush II was indeed a rat bastard that deserves to have his ass hauled to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. What makes you think that saying he was smart is somehow overruling his (many) mistakes and error as President? Lots of smart men (and the occasional woman) have been horrible leaders. Otherwise competent and intelligent men have made serious errors (often a series off) major errors and miscalculations in all walks of life, often despite advice to the contrary The argument that I (who is neither a Republican nor an American) is that the common depiction of him as a simpleton is in inaccurate, an inaccuracy partly enabled by his own affected mannerism. It does nothing to deflect from the monumental mistakes made by him in Iraq and elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/39 "2015-08-29T15:32:14Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > What makes you think that saying he was smart is somehow overruling his (many) mistakes and error as President? > > Lots of smart men (and the occasional woman) have been horrible leaders. Otherwise competent and intelligent men have made serious errors (often a series off) major errors and miscalculations in all walks of life, often despite advice to the contrary > > The argument that I (who is neither a Republican nor an American) is that the common depiction of him as a simpleton is in inaccurate, an inaccuracy partly enabled by his own affected mannerism. > > It does nothing to deflect from the monumental mistakes made by him in Iraq and elsewhere. But the point was that many of those were **not** mistakes. There is an old phrase in Spanish that goes like “To eat fish and to lie you have to be careful” as in to smart or cunning (in the case of the fish is to void the spines that can give you trouble). Being smart does point to even more deceitful cunning than what many thought it took place. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034/40 "2015-08-29T15:39:42Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Wow is right. I wish that guy had been our two-term president. Not impressed. He sounded like he was reciting something from memory, and if he slowed down too much, he’d have to start over again at the beginning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeb-really-the-smarter-brother/729034.md?page=3)