To quote James Cramer (another man who belies the "Harvard=Smart" myth), "Wrong."
Every one at the ivies knows, they're hard to get in, but easy to graduate. They pride themselves on high 4-year graduation rates, so they make it virtually impossible to fail out. Was it really hard for W to get into Yale? Well, considering that something like 4 of the 5 admissions officers were Skull & Bonesmen (like G.H.W.B. and later G.W.B.), I can't imagine it was. Remember that this was around the time when Ivy admissions were transitioning from aristocracy to meritocracy (not that they're done with the transition...). And as for HBS... admissions there is not based on intelligence, but likelihood for future success--i.e. winning charm and famous parents will get you in. Compare this to, say, the considerably more rigorous Texas Law School, which dinged their favorite son. I think W would have needed more shots at the bar than that Kennedy kid.
No one is suggesting that Hawking is dumb because he got poor grades in college (which I don't believe, incidentally). I got grades comparable to W in college (considering grade inflation), and I don't consider myself dumb. But I sure wouldn't point to them as evidence that I'm smart, as UF did for Bush.
I'll say again, though, that I don't believe W is dumb, although he has--without question--a learning disability, and ADD. I also wouldn't want to defend Gore's intelligence. |
