What’s so ‘perilous’?

August 3, 2007

Far-right commentator Neal Boortz was one of the lucky handful of Republican activists who was invited to the White House for a private, off-the-record audience with the president this week. Like the rest of the attendees, Boortz honored the agreement and didn’t report on what, specifically, was said in the meeting, but he dutifully explained how much he respects and admires the president — which is what he’s expected to say and why he was invited in the first place.

But one of Boortz’s comments stood out. (via Dan Froomkin)

Anybody who thinks that this president is, somehow, ignorant or stupid is either sadly misinformed or delusional. Let the left think this man is unintelligent at their peril.

Now, there’s no reason to rehash the voluminous evidence that calls the president’s intelligence into question; at this point, anyone who considers Bush knowledgeable and bright is past the point of convincing.

I was more intrigued by the idea that the left will somehow regret underestimating Bush’s intellectual prowess. We do so, Boortz argues, at our “peril.”

What on earth does this mean, exactly? What’s so “perilous” about thinking that the president isn’t the sharpest crayon in the box? What’s Bush going to do, show up on Jeopardy and make us feel foolish for doubting him?

As for other attendees, Scott Hennen noted how the president set the tone for his chat with far-right talk-show hosts.

He started with an explanation of why he wanted us in the Oval Office. He said the room was the place where he made the vast majority of his decisions as President. He gave us a sense of the magnitude of those decisions and what information he learns on a daily basis there. He shared a story of one of the first decisions he was asked to make in the Oval Office. What style of rug would he want? He chuckled and explained [that he asked] Laura — as he didn’t do rugs. He used that as a metaphor to explain how he manages the awesome responsibility he has. His role is to focus on the big decisions utilizing his core convictions that the United States is a force for good in the World. That we must lead and take on evil . . . wherever it is, so as to assure as many people as possible will enjoy the God given inalienable right to freedom.

He spoke very eloquently about Good vs. Evil and even brought the story back to the rug, which was designed with only this Presidential input — to let it reflect light so as to influence his decision making. Light as in good vs. darkness as in evil.

Sweet jeebus, again with the rug?

If Bush’s catastrophic decisions were arrived at by mustering all of his focus then his brain is about the size of a BB.

  • Neal Boortz and his kind remind me of Ralphie’s dream in “A Christmas Story,” where he comes back with soap blindness and his parents regret the errors of their ways. They keep thinking history will prove them right! History will avenge us!

    Someone should tell them the historians have already spoken.

    The verdict was dark back in 2004: http://hnn.us/articles/5019.html
    And even starker in 2006: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history

    Do they really think when all of Bush and Cheney’s secrets come to light, when all the things they don’t want revealed are seen, when all the repressed testimony and hidden evidence under the “executive privilege” ruse are unearthed, and when all the evidence of their pathetic, damaging legacy is revealed — that then, somehow, they’ll look better than they do now?

    Denial. It’s all they have left.

  • “Sweet Jeebus” is right – we don’t care about the bleepin’ rug, George, and the fact that you consider it an “important” decision – even if you think that’s a humorous lead-in to the really serious business of being president, you demean the office just in the telling. I’m kind of surprised that you didn’t entertain the crowd with your decision about what to wear your first day in the Oval, or which freakin’ foot would hit the floor as you were getting out of bed. Boxers or Briefs? – no Clinton already went there, and you sure didn’t want those conservatives imagining your oh-so-private parts.

    Maybe the “peril” we would face is in underestimating just how much sickness and evil hides behind his folksy tales, his Beavis & Butthead heh-heh-heh’s, and if we had any idea of the magnitude of it, we would all run screaming into the night.

    No, I think Boortz and others have invested so much in this miserable example of a president, that they need – desperately need – people to believe that Bush’s soaring intelligence is just hidden from public view – and that only the chosen few are ever treated to a glimpse at it. Like him and all his right-wing buds – they’re in an exclusive club and we’re not – how special is that?

    I don’t think Bush is a drooling idiot – but he’s not getting into Mensa anytime soon, and if he is of average, or above-average intelligence, he sure has a poor record of applying it to the issues that face us, and his overall judgment just plain sucks.

  • I was more intrigued by the idea that the left will somehow regret underestimating Bush’s intellectual prowess. We do so, Boortz argues, at our “peril.”

    At our peril? As president, Bush has naked, raw power at his disposal — mainly, the “bully pulpit.” Any president tends to monopolize the public microphone. So, short of dropping a nuke on Capitol Hill, what do the Democrats have to fear? Bush spouting off about the lousy people in the “Democrat” Party.

  • What piques my curiosity more than anything else is whether Bush & Co. really believe they won’t have to pay the piper sooner or later. Do they really believe there will be no repercussions for their actions sooner or later? Do they really believe the truth won’t matter sooner or later? Do they really believe they can repeatedly break the law and not be brought to justice sooner or later? Do they really believe that there is no one with greater power than themselves? Do they not know the natural law of consequences?

  • If the past seven or so years show how the United States is a force for good in the world, I shudder to think what we could do if we wanted to promote evil.

  • “Peril!” The Left should be afraid. Very afraid. It’s about Good vs. Evil, you know.

    Don’t you know that the Terrorists are planning to attack us in August, which is why Trent Lott is in such a hurry to get back to a Safe Place – like the Gulf Coast in Hurricane Season.

    And don’t you realize that the intelligence, wisdom, and yes, Divine Guidance of our Dear Leader, George W. Bush, along with his right-hand man Deadeye Dick, is all that keeps us from destruction at the hands of those very same Terrorists.

    If we had listened to Neal Boortz and adopted a flat national sales tax, we wouldn’t be having half of these problems.

  • What’s Bush going to do, show up on Jeopardy and make us feel foolish for doubting him?

    I feel foolish imagining Lil’ Bush on Jeopardy! Since he basically dodges every non-softball question from the press corpse nowadays, would Alex Trebek be waterboarded before the show to ensure that the answers (in the form of questions) were as broad as possible? The imagination runs wild with this one.

    But maybe you’re missing the point altogether, CB. Bush appearing on that 4th Grader show would be more apropos, don’t you think?

    …to assure as many people as possible will enjoy the God given inalienable right to freedom.

    Sounds like a Foecks in the Hennen house. How about a little of that World Famous “inalienable right to freedom” from unreasonable searches and seizures in the form of spying on American citizens (also known as Fourth Amendment rights to all you Reich Wing lookers-in that flunked the Constitution test)?

  • There was an article which I saw referenced in “The Wilson Quarterly” that talked about the IQ of all 42 Presidents.

    The President with the lowest IQ was Grant. The President with the second lowest IQ was Bush 43.

    So, acording to this academic study everyone can laugh at how stupid our current President is.

    However, they estimated Grant’s IQ to be 130 and Bush’s IQ to be 138.

    An IQ of 138 might be many things but it ain’t STUPID.

    I think Bush’s problem is that he knows what he knows and there is nothing that can shake him of his faith that he is right. He is right about his religious beliefs and he is right about his politcal beliefs. Why let facts get in the way of what you know to be true.

    PS

    How many people posting here have an IQ over 138?

  • Bush is just scared that he’s lost the support of the right-wing noise machine after they bitch-slapped him over immigration. Luckily, the lapdogs are so easily manipulated that he’s now completely back on their good side.

  • Those who are in peril are the millions of Iraqi’s who wish to see the bombing of their neighborhoods stop.

    Those in peril are the millions of Iraqis who wonder just what a peaceful day is like after four years of unceasing violence.

    Those in peril are the millions of Iraqis who must attend funeral after funeral as their sons, daughters, neighbors and friends are blown to bits on streets throughout the nation.

    Those in peril are the millions of Iraqis who promised liberation and were given unceasing conflict.

    Those in peril are the millions of Iraqis who want consistent electrical power so that they can run their hospitals.

    Those in peril are the millions of Iraqis who deal with 9-11s every day.

    Those in peril are the millions of Iraqi men women and children who never know for sure that they’ll be alive when the sun rises tomorrow.

    I wonder how many Iraqis have an IQ over 138, because it doesn’t take a fucking mensa member to recognize a cluster fuck perpetuated by a bumbling, mumbling fool of a man who has convinced himself that the God in the sky is on his side.

  • CB wrote: “What’s so “perilous” about thinking that the president isn’t the sharpest crayon in the box?”

    There’s always a peril in underestimating your opponents (or ‘misunderestimating’ them, as the President would say), but there’s an equal peril to overestimating your opponents, especially their intelligence (you start assuming things like, “He’s not stupid enough to invade Iraq,” and suddenly, you’re caught off guard).

    Personally, I feel the most accurate assessment of the man is that of a simpleton – “I don’t do nuance,” as he’s famously said. This assessment provides the most predictive power regarding his policies. Considering Bush has never done a single successful thing in his Presidency, maybe even his life, I feel safe estimating him a moron.

  • Neil:

    Whether 138 is high or low versus the population (where, in theory, 100 is the mean) is not a relevant question. Being President is not your usual task; done well it surely calls for someone above average in many respects, raw intellectual processing power high among them.

    It is no accident that the “average” President is, evidently, above 138. That he likely has the second lowest IQ among US Presidents is still telling and still explains a lot — particularly when coupled with, as you correctly point out, an infallibility complex (and, I would add, an extraordinarily below-average intellectual curiousity).

    By the way, as to your last line, I would be truly surprised if the distribution of IQs here were not shifted above that of the general population, which is to say I suspect a fair number of regular commenters here are 138 or above.

  • Underestimate him at our peril? What are they putting in the kool aid these days? Now, these gasbags have to fill a lot air time with very little to work with, so I can grant them some leeway for idiocy. But there’s idiocy and then there’s stark raving bonkers.

    I ‘d suggest that Boortz defends Bush at his peril. Someday in the not too distant future, the screech monkey are going to have to either turn on Bush in a big way, or go the way of the dinosaur. The longer they put it off, the closer they get to the dinosaurs.

  • PS

    How many people posting here have an IQ over 138?

    Okay, everyone, whip it out. neil wants to have an IQ measuring contest.

  • I’ve got this leitmotif (rug crap) figured out:

    It’s a Freudian slip…

    Rug = Cover-up

    Red rug = Covering up the lies that have led to the death of 1000s of Americans and 10,000s of Iranians.

    Bush is a war criminal..

  • “However, they estimated Grant’s IQ to be 130 and Bush’s IQ to be 138.”-Neil

    So who exactly is making these estimations. Maybe some bush-bot ‘think’ tank ??
    There is no way Bush has an above average IQ mush less 138, bet. I have yet to see the man demonstrate anything but an amazing ability to read a teleprompter and remember no less then fifty sounds bites and use them in a 5 min speech.

    By peril he means:
    – winning the majority in Congress and the House
    – almost a no-brainer win in 2008
    – catching and passing his party in almost every poll on every question
    – having his AG on the brink of impeachment proceedings
    – having his popularity near Nixon levels
    – on and on and on….

    Yes folks, we are certainly in Boortz’s definition of peril.

  • What dems underestimate at their peril is not his “intelligence” but his gift for propaganda, his willingness to violate constitutional conventions and ability do that which seems unthinkable. Among a few hundred other less than admirable traits…

  • “However, they estimated Grant’s IQ to be 130 and Bush’s IQ to be 138.”-Neil

    So who exactly is making these estimations. Maybe some bush-bot ‘think’ tank ??
    There is no way Bush has an above average IQ mush less 138, bet. I have yet to see the man demonstrate anything but an amazing ability to read a teleprompter and remember no less then fifty sounds bites and use them in a 5 min speech.

    By peril he means:
    – winning the majority in Congress and the House
    – almost a no-brainer win in 2008
    – catching and passing his party in almost every poll on every question
    – having his AG on the brink of impeachment proceedings
    – having his popularity near Nixon levels
    – on and on and on….

    Yes folks, we are certainly in Boortz’s definition of peril.

  • Neil wrote: “How many people posting here have an IQ over 138?”

    You should keep in mind that IQ is just a number, which isn’t necessarily related to the overall ‘intelligence’ of a person. Intelligence is a consequence of a lot of factors, most of which don’t depend on their ability to pass a written test. There are brilliant scientists out there who I wouldn’t trust to give me directions to the grocery store.

    Furthermore, when I call someone ‘stupid’, I’m not necessarily saying that their brain is missing a couple of lobes, I’m referring to the fact that whatever brainpower they do have isn’t being used – or isn’t being used for any sort of productive purpose. I suspect most people have this definition in mind as well. Bush is the ultimate anti-intellectual: he’s proud of the fact that he was a mediocre student in school, and he loves to belittle and berate people who have proven their intellectual bona-fides.

    Finally, I quote a web page regarding the value of IQ scores:

    “Measures of intelligence may be valuable — although the value is often overrated — but much harm can be done by persons who try to classify individuals strictly on the basis of such measures alone.”

  • I have to remind myself not to confuse Bush’s arrogant and relentless lack of curiosity and laziness with an absence of intellectual capacity. That said, I am not going to accept without more evidence that Bush has an IQ of 138 any more than I will accept that Warren G. Harding had an IQ north of 138. Sorry, Neil Wilson, you need to produce a link at minimum.

    OTOH, Neil Boortz and friends should not confuse ruthless cunning with a towering intellect. My observations of Bush is that he is very cunning and very ruthless. He approaches governing as I would expect a monarch to approach governing – with an expectation of total fealty from his court, a need to be stroked by fawning subjects, and a total lack of empathy for those he deems “below his station” in life. He thrives on the trappings and perks of his office but is vexed by any demands that office makes on him beyond the efforts he deigns to apply to it.

    He views his entitlement to power as absolute; he ignores the popular will. He thinks we all should “get with his program” simply on his say so. He does not know how to prersuade, inspire or lead. He uses fear as a prod and an unwarranted certitude that he and he alone knows what is right to move or thwart public opinion. His underlings exploit his weaknesses to move their own agenda rather than using their strengths to offset those weaknesses. I do think we ignore or forget these realities at our peril. Bush’s shortcomings and the crap that flows from those shortcomings never sleep. Neither should those who oppose him.

  • http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/07/2006071201j.htm

    It costs $10 to read the article. I tried looking at the Wilson Quarterly site but they don’t seem to have the link to the magazine that published the study.

    I any event, my point was to support my contention that Bush is not stupid. He is just not intellectually curious and he is so sure that he knows that he is right that he doesn’t pay attention to any facts that contradict what he knows to be true.

    I am not defending Bush.

    If I had to guess, I would probably rank Bush as the worst President in history. I am not that familiar with Johnson and Grant and it is hard to say anyone is worse than Buchanan.

  • You can add to that, Neil, that he is lazy as a yellow dog, and can’t be bothered to do any research. He just says whatever comes into his substandard head, and dares anyone to correct him. He knows enough about smarts to know that a lot of people think they are important for a president to have, hence the “casual, unposed” photos of him with Camus open on his knee as if he we actually reading it. Only long enough to establish that there are no fart jokes in it, I’ll bet.

    It reminds me of Rush Limbaugh’s eye-popping statement: “…there are people in this White House who could blow you away with their intellect, and the president is one of those, if he chose to address you in that way.” Yes, he was talking about THIS White House. Bush is only secretive, Rush, not a master of disguises. I could buy that he wants to keep his razor-sharp intellect a secret – not that he deliberately pretends to be the opposite; a stunned buffoon who regularly makes statements that sound like they were written for him by Bullwinkle.

  • calvin suggests that the gentle reader may be referred back to this post sometime after he has declared martial law and canceled the elections in ’08.

    Stupid, eh? Ignorant, eh?

    Break out the illegal fishing data and let’s go fishing! We’ll see who’s stupid and ignorant.

  • It reminds me of Rush Limbaugh’s eye-popping statement: “…there are people in this White House who could blow you away with their intellect, […] — Mark, @31

    Actually.. Given Limbaugh’s audience and its intellecual level… It’s quite possible that they *would* be blown away

  • Dan Froomkin included this quote from Scott Hennen in his report on the optimists club:

    “His descriptions of the enemy and their brutal, cold-blooded-killer tactics were enough to make a graying group of radio talk how hosts want to enlist and serve this country in uniform.”

    This brings up a few questions (to which I probably already know the answers): how many hosts are under the current enlistment age? (it’s around 42, isn’t it?) Will Mr. Hennen and his colleagues start regularly asking their listeners to enlist in the armed services? Did Mr. Hennen ask President Bush when his daughters or young nieces and nephews will be joining the military?

    It would be amazing if the President had a meeting with 10 harsh yet eloquent critics instead of his fan clubs, but that will never happen. (has such a meeting taken place in other administrations?)

  • “…we must lead and take on evil . . . wherever it is…”

    What is he, 10 years old?

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