A moment of optimism -- please join me

[zDom]

It took Bush and the rest of the government 8 years to get us in the mess we're in now. I don't care who you are, you cannot argue the fact that we have been dealing with politicians that mainly have their best interests at heart.

The problems we face today go back further than 8 years. Deregulation began during Clinton's administration.

But I will never argue against the statement that politicians mainly have their best interests at heart. On that we can agree.

 

[zDom]

They didn't have to hammer us. Bush is Stupid. He practically put it out there on a platter.

Nope didn't have to hammer it at all when people like you were so willing to believe it. He didn't put it on a platter, it was the media who served it and you ate it up.

No time to do primary research, but according to Wikipedia:

In 2006, a real study, albeit one based on varied and often subjective historical material analyzed with the tools of historiometry, was published in the journal Political Psychology. It estimated IQs for all US presidents since 1900. It rated G.W. Bush second to last, with an estimated IQ of 125 (with the estimate ranging from 111 to 139; the standard average for all people is 100). The same study estimated president Bill Clinton's IQ at 149.[10] In an interview, the study's director noted that "Bush may be 'much smarter' than the findings imply" but that he "scores particularly unimpressively for 'openness to experience, a cognitive proclivity that encompasses unusual receptiveness to fantasy, aesthetics, actions, ideas and values.'"[11][12][13]
Other researchers have looked at performances on actual IQ-correlated tests taken by George W. Bush and his two political opponents, such as the SAT and aptitude tests given to prospective military officers. These have given an estimated IQ of 125 for George W. Bush (and 120 for John Kerry and 134 for Al Gore).[14]

(Bolds are mine)

You can't judge a person's intelligence solely on their ability to speak in public.

The above suggests that Bush is no genius, but is definately smarter than average — and smarter than Kerry, fwiw.

You don't like the guy. We get it. But saying someone is stupid over and over and OVER again for eight years doesn't make it TRUE; it just makes those who are gullible enough to believe everything they hear on the news believe it.

If you would like some advice on a more accurate way to show your dislike of Bush, I would suggest calling him a "fool."

Intelligence can be determined objectively. Wisdom and the lack of wisdom are certainly more subjective.

 

[Twin Fist]

They didn't have to hammer us. Bush is Stupid. He practically put it out there on a platter.

he has a masters from an ivy league school.

do you?

for that matter, does anyone you know?

he flew FIGHTER JETS

you ever met a stupid pilot?

 

[elder999]

he has a masters from an ivy league school.

You can stack an encyclopedia on a donkey, and it's still just a jackass. :lfao:

do you?

yes.

for that matter, does anyone you know?

Yes....

he flew FIGHTER JETS

you ever met a stupid pilot?

Yes. :lfao:

I'm sure there were more, and they wound up dead. :lfao:

For the record, there's a world of difference between intelligence and the lack thereof, ignorance, knowledge, wisdom, and stupidity.

I know lots of intelligent people who are fairly, well, stupid, in spite of whatever knowledge they've gained, many "uneducated" people who had wisdom and knowledge, and I've never met anyone who hadn't done something stupid at least once in their life....most had a "stupid phase" if you looked closely enough....

 

[BrandonLucas]

Bush was definitely an intelligent man. Sure. No one is going to argue that he was smart...he got elected...twice....for a reason.

Can he speak well in public? Not as well as other presidents.

Could he lead the nation? Certainly not as well as other presidents.

Is he the president now? No, Obama is.

You don't have to like the fact that Bush ran this country for 8 years. But he did. You don't have to like the fact that Obama is the president. But he is.

I seriously don't see what else there is to discuss here.

 

[elder999]

Is he the president now? No, Obama is.
.

Actually, Bush is president now, and until Jan. 20.....

 

[Archangel M]

It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.

Ayn Rand

 

[arnisador]

he has a masters from an ivy league school.

do you?

Yup.

for that matter, does anyone you know?

Yes, I work with a few others.

you ever met a stupid pilot?

Most are pretty smart, but there's some flotsam in every ocean.

But I agree that he gets a bad rap on intelligence. People should distinguish his basic intelligence from his questionable judgment (and organizational management skills).

 

[BrandonLucas]

Actually, Bush is president now, and until Jan. 20.....

I stand corrected.

 

[Traditionalist]

he has a masters from an ivy league school.

do you?

for that matter, does anyone you know?

he flew FIGHTER JETS

you ever met a stupid pilot?

Bush didn't fly fighter jets he barely made it in the guard. and yes my sister is a junior at Yale. She is studing to be a translator for the government.

 

[Marginal]

he has a masters from an ivy league school.

I don't trust those ivy league intellectuals. (Perhaps if the GOP stopped running in part on this platform, the people they elect to office wouldn't be perceived as stupid.)

 

[grydth]

Gordon Nore, commendably, started this thread... note the title. Look what has followed.

Apparently a moment was way too much to ask.

 

[Carol]

We're the first western country to put a person of color in the big chair. Its about frikkin time. I really hope his election will help with the dissolution of these stupid old dividing lines both here and around the world.

He's not who I voted for either, but I hope we all see him grow in to being an excellent president. I think he has the potential to be one. He ran a smart, successful campaign, I hope his leadership is just as strong.