While I agree that the above ground swimming pool comment was idiotic, why is it wrong to say that you want a smart president this time??

There are 2 kinds of smarts. Common sense and the other kind. I generally only mind discussing something with people who are severely lacking in common sense. If they've got that, they can grasp when an idea makes sense and when it doesn't.

And here is one that doesn't. You shouldn't WANT the president to be like you. If I wanted a president like me, I'd be running. See how that works?

I don't think it's looking down on the "simple folk" to say that we want a smart president. I don't want the guy in the cubicle across from me running the country anymore than I want the guy who picks my vegetables to be running the country. It's not an elite thing, the president should be smart. If he's smart AND you want to have a beer with him, great. But he should be smarter than you, he should be smarter than me, and he should be MUCH smarter than George. Case closed.

Indeed, we should want a smart president and are fortunate enough to have two smart guys running this year. However, to imply that MY candidate is smart and YOURS is a dolt is a surefire way for ME to lose an argument.

Ridry:

But he should be smarter than you, he should be smarter than me, and he should be MUCH smarter than George. Case closed.

That's your opinion.

And you think President Bush isn't smart? I've met the man more than once. He's much smarter than you give him credit for.

Don't let the daily show form your opinions for you.

How can we attack the intelligence of a candidate then? If we both agree they should have quite a bit to be the president, isn't it fair game to require it?

shortcut:

Ridry:

But he should be smarter than you, he should be smarter than me, and he should be MUCH smarter than George. Case closed.

That's your opinion.

And you think President Bush isn't smart? I've met the man more than once. He's much smarter than you give him credit for.

Don't let the daily show form your opinions for you.

I don't watch the daily show. And which part is my opinion? If you don't think the president should be really smart (something I consider to be a fact, not an opinion), I'd rather not waste my brain cells having this conversation with you.

If you think President Bush is really smart, then I'd love to hear why, since yes, that IS an opinion.

And actually, I'll revise a bit. I can't judge how smart he is, but I know he has said things along the lines of how he'd rather go with his gut then his brain.

He's not a smart speaker, but that doesn't make him an idiot. I can't judge how smart his brain is because, by his own admission, he doesn't use it very often.

And for the record, my judgments of intelligence are not confined to party lines. I think Cheney is an asshole, but I think he's incredibly smart. McCain is a liar, but also, very smart. And I thought Kerry was the dumbest intellectual I ever had the misfortune of seeing on television. The only reason I was for Kerry was to be against Bush. I'm fairly certain I would have chosen McCain over Kerry.

"And you think President Bush isn't smart? I've met the man more than once. He's much smarter than you give him credit for. "

You can't tell from a "thanks for coming out" at a rope line how intelligent anyone is.

And if you try to say you sat down for a ten minute conversation with the Pres of the US, you better back that up or it's total bullsh*t.

Not only daily show watchers think Dubya's intellect is sub-par, by the way. Plenty of right wingers aren't impressed with his performance. Hence his 24% approval ratings, same as Nixon when he resigned in disgrace.

Sorry, but it cuts both ways. For every "elitist liberal" who turns up his nose at poor, white, middle class America, there's a "Joe Sixpack conservative" who thumbs their nose at higher learning and wants to place their belief system on the same level with scientific fact.

This is what happens when some people vote for a president based on the Beer test.

Ridry:

And which part is my opinion?

It was quoted in my post.

And to the person who thinks I've met the President in a greeting line: I've met him twice and it wasn't a greeting line. The first time was Thanksgiving day 2003 and the second time was at Fort Stewart GA. Both times were much longer than 10 minutes.

You quoted 2 things.

"But he should be smarter than you, he should be smarter than me, and he should be MUCH smarter than George. Case closed."

This says
1) I don't think President Bush is very smart
2) I think the President should be VERY VERY smart

I was wondering if you disagreed with both of those things, or just the part about Bush

"And to the person who thinks I've met the President in a greeting line: I've met him twice and it wasn't a greeting line. The first time was Thanksgiving day 2003 and the second time was at Fort Stewart GA. Both times were much longer than 10 minutes."

Then by all means, share what he said that you considered to be intellectually gifted.

His approval rating is 24%, same as Nixon when he resigned in disgrace. Like I said, it's not just daily show watchers or left leaning people that disagree with you.

shortcut:

Ridry:

And which part is my opinion?

It was quoted in my post.

And to the person who thinks I've met the President in a greeting line: I've met him twice and it wasn't a greeting line. The first time was Thanksgiving day 2003 and the second time was at Fort Stewart GA. Both times were much longer than 10 minutes.

If he's so smart, why is it that he can barely manage to put a sentence together unless he's reading from a Teleprompter?

apropos1:

His approval rating is 24%, same as Nixon when he resigned in disgrace. Like I said, it's not just daily show watchers or left leaning people that disagree with you.

Congress' approval rating is 17%. If that's your critieria for his intelligence than he's Einstein compared to Congress.

"Congress' approval rating is 17%. If that's your critieria for his intelligence than he's Einstein compared to Congress."

No, it certainly isn't my only criteria for intelligence. Another poster was saying that the low opinion of Bush's mind comes from daily show watchers. It comes from the right and the left, like his approval ratings.