Y'know, I don't think Bush is dumb. Frankly, he's of a pretty typical intelligence level. From his mispronunciations and inaccuracies, it's obvious that he doesn't do a great deal of reading. I think he lacks the basic curiosity about "what makes things work" that distinguishes the politico of higher intelligence : For Bush, things just are the way they are, the way they always have been, the way they always will be. He has a kind of easy humor and confidence that are rather endearing, the kind of middle-management guy who might have worked at Enron, popular with his underlings and competently managing his area while the whole shooting match was sliding down the tubes. I'll bet he'd be a good guy to have a beer with after work, and what he lacked in wit and perception, he would make up for in humor and camaraderie. He's just an average guy, and I think that's why he appeals to average guys. It's sort of like we were all sitting around the table at happy hour in Bennigan's, drew cocktail straws to see who would become President, and GW won.

Guys like Clinton, Gore, Ralph Nader might be sharp, but you wouldn't meet em for a beer, especially Clinton if your wife came along. Bush said about Reagan "he wasn't bogged down by a lot of complexities that just confuse people." I think this says a lot about Bush...complexities aren't layers of fact or meaning that may have a crucial bearing on a situation, they are "confusers". But he's not stupid, he's merely average. Go to work and look around. There are probably several people in your office with as much skill and competence as George has, they just lack the power and the confidence.

In a country that has been viciously attacked by a group of religious fanatics, where the economy has hit the skids, where the real world seems strange and scary, a simple guy who presents things as black-and-white issues is somehow reassuring to the average American. We aren't looking to the future or we'd want a visionary. We're looking for a competent mechanic to keep the ship of state afloat and steaming along, and maybe plug the holes as they pop up. And I think that's the way GW is seen...he's a Plugger.

Kind of sad though. When what we need is a Lincoln, what we get is the Maytag Repairman. And we're ready to settle for it.