IS BUSH DUMB OR JUST STUPID?
Mike Michaels, American Correspondent
Feb 4 2008
Washington, D.C. – With less than a year left to his presidency, George W. Bush is consistently flirting with the lowest approval ratings of any president before him. With the continuing stalemate of the “War on Terror”, and the burden of a sinking economy, the reign of the forty-third president of the United States will likely end with as much controversy as it began.
If one were to look at this Presidency through the eyes of fatalism, it would seem as though has been tainted from the very beginning. From the controversial election, to the devastating 9/11 attacks less than a year later, Bush seems to have never had it very easy. While few would argue that the President of the United States could ever be an easy job, Bush seems to have as difficult a time as any of his predecessors.
Washington had the Revolutionary War, Lincoln had the Civil War and abolishment of slavery, Roosevelt had World War II, and Kennedy had Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis. While it may comfortable to look back on those events with rose coloured glasses, think perhaps that they were far worse and far more traumatic than anything Bush has endured, that thinking may be flawed. We tend to forget the failures in the face of the results, forget the process when we see the results. The challenges that have faced this President are as grave and serious as any that have preceded him.
Not forgotten in the challenges facing him as a President is the challenges of critics who not only question his ethics and fitness for the job but also his intelligence.
“Bushisms” as they have come to be called, have plagued Bush almost from the beginning. As time has gone on, and as his respect as a President has declined, the ridicule has only increased. It may be, as some have claimed, that he is merely inarticulate. It may be that he doesn’t do well under pressure. The truth may not matter though. Much like the rose coloured glasses that can shade history, people will see the world the way they choose to see it, regardless of the facts.
That leaves the question then. Is Bush stupid or is he just dumb? The definition of the terms may be the key to deciding.
“Stupid seems to fit,” said Washington analyst Jack Watson. “He’s a Harvard graduate. He’s had all the opportunities, it just seems like nothing has sunk in. The word dumb suggests like he never had any type of education, like he’d be some backwoods hayseed or something. Bush has had every chance in life, he’s just wasted them.”
Another analyst, John Higgins disagrees, “To me it’s a matter of severity. Bush seems completely oblivious of his surroundings and to me that’s just dumb. Stupid would be not getting complex math questions or having little common sense. To me, Bush seems just this side of being a drooling nitwit. He’s definitely dumb.”
There seems to be no shortage of opinions when it comes to this topic, no matter on which side of the political fence people rest. It would seem the debate over George W. Bush’s intelligence, a topic which has fuelled controversy and chatter from the beginning, may well stay through the end of his final term.
“It will be interesting to see what his legacy will be,” continued Watson. “Will he have a library? Will it have colouring books? I just hope he remembers to leave office. The new President takes over on the 20th, so he’ll be able to use his fingers and toes to keep track. Here’s hoping.”
