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August 16, 2006

Merely inarticulate or stupid?

J
ohn Fund says that George Bush "is inarticulate but not stupid." But, as I always try to convey to my students, and as David Foster Wallace would have it, it really doesn't matter if you aren't stupid; if you don't sound smart to the people to whom you are speaking, they're going to think you're stupid. Of course, there's also the school of thought that actions speak louder than words.

Posted by Peter at August 16, 2006 7:05 PM

Comments

I once had a government contract monitor who seemed to have trouble expressing himself. We always came away confused after talking to him. We thought he knew what he wanted but had trouble expressing that thought. I finally concluded that he was expressing exactly what he had in his mind. I suspect the same is true of GWB.

Posted by: Mark at August 17, 2006 8:32 AM

Were I communications director I would advise Mr. Bush to give up speaking altogether. He would still make public appearances, but would merely stand stoically and silently, Shane-like.

Occasionally, he would respond to especially insolent questions from the Times' White House correspondents with, "I've heard that you're a low-down Yankee liar."

Posted by: Andy Vance at August 17, 2006 10:47 AM

There is also a school of thought that says if you cannot make yourself understood, what good are you.

Posted by: thebewilderness at August 18, 2006 6:37 PM

Bush's college boards and military IQ test showed him to be well above average in intelligence -- although not a genius. Certainly he had a hHigher IQ than Kerry, whose test scores were also made public.

It's speculation, but I wonder what effect his alcohol and cocaine years have had on his intellect.

Posted by: herb at August 21, 2006 10:38 AM