So you are suggesting Bush is not actually stupid or ignorant
Bush is not actually stupid but deeply anti-intellectual. Apparently, his SAT scores were 1200 - about 150 less than the average required to get into Yale. That may have put him at an intellectual disadvantage throughout his undergraduate career. And that could have caused his anti-intellectualism to burgeon.
Another aspect of Dubya is his considerable Christian faith. A peculiar feature of this Southern faith is that it tends to reduce the reliance on reason or intellect in deference to faith. This is a powerful element in Dubya's anti-intellectualism, IMO.
As David Frum, a former speechwriter puts it, in Dubya's White House "conspicuous intelligence seemed actively unwelcome."
Here's more on Dubya's decision making:
But from the very beginning, Frum was surprised at how different Bush was from the caricature depicted in the media. Hardly a jovial simpleton or a puppet of Dick Cheney, Bush was "a man of fierce anger," "tart rather than sweet," deft at maintaining the personal loyalty of his staff, unequivocally in charge, and supremely confident, in spite of the weakness of his political position. A candid remark he made during a visit to an elementary school in the summer of 2001 speaks volumes. Asked by a student whether he found it hard to make decisions, he replied:
"If you're one of these types of people that are always trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing, decision making can be difficult. But I find that I know who I am. I know what I believe in, and I know where I want to lead the country. And most of the time, decisions come pretty easily for me, to be frank with you. I realize sometimes people don't like the decisions. That's okay. I've never been one to try to please everybody all the time. I just do what I think is right."
theatlantic.com
The biggest crimes against humanity have always been committed confidently in God's name. The world has much cause to fear the fierce anger of this anti-intellectual, supremely-confident Christian. |
