Hawke wrote:
After reading the responses to my query there was one thing that stood out,
nobody, not one person said they thought Bush was smarter than they are.
That doesn't surprise me and it says a lot too. It's like nobody mentioning
the 400lb. gorilla in the room. So I take that as tacit acknowledgement that
everyone knows that Bush really isn't very bright. It reminds me of when
there is a fat, ugly girl they want to fix you up with and people say she's
really nice. We all know what that means.

No, you missed the point because it did not agree with your
preconception. We think Bush is pretty sharp, probably as smart or more
than the average in this forum. He is no Einstein, and neither are we,
nor do we want a super-intellect running our country. After all, we
tried out a Rhodes Scholar for 8 years, and suffered national
embarrassment as a result.
The office of the president, even the government as a whole, was
designed by the FFs to be made up of ordinary men, not intellectuals.
Remember the line about "...rule of law, not of men"?
Anyone with military command experince knows that the best leaders
are rarely those with the highest intellect. The individual with common
sense, commitment and purpose will be a better leader. I don't think
it's an accident that both Bushes spent time as officers in the military.