GW Bush is not dumb and he is not insane.

[Disturbed]

After watching the entire Press Conference, I am convinced that he is of average IQ and sane. He sincerely believes in the direction of the Regime policies. He is wrong in my view regarding all of the Regime's directions, foreign and domestic. He does lie,speaks half truths, pratices lies of omission, misleads and dismisses counter views. I believe that he should be Impeached because he has committed crimes.

[democrat in Tallahassee]

1. He is evil. Plain evil. n/t

[ClassWarrior]

2. Not even that. Just a criminal.

NGU.

[graywarrior]

3. War criminal

[mtnsnake]

4. He looks it. nt

[Vickers]

5. There is a difference between being dumb and being a dumbass.

He's a dumbass.

[C_U_L8R]

6. yeah.. a real jerk

[opihimoimoi]

21. Perhaps the Mother of ALL JERKS...THE MEGA JERK

[flyarm]

7. he could have fooled me!!..n/t

[donco6]

8. Dumb? Certainly. Insane? Maybe.

I've watched Bush in every debate and the guy is unquestionably stupid. He cannot think on his feet to save his life.

As to whether he's insane, I guess that depends on the definition. He was stupid enough to attack the hornet's nest of Iraq and think that it would all work out. IMO, that's pretty insane.

[ClassWarrior]

10. Whether he's dumb or not, saying he is just hurts our side.

I think he plays dumb all the way to the bank. But whether I'm right or you are, promoting the idiot meme just lowers the public's expectations of him. So we shouldn't be aiding and abetting that.

NGU.

[donco6]

13. ? So I should say he's smart because it's good strategy?

Now THAT's dumb.

[ClassWarrior]

14. So how does "of average IQ and sane" translate to "smart"?

In fact, why talk about intelligence at all? Why not talk about his criminality and lack of responsibility? That to me is much more damning than "he's dumb."

And personal attacks are a violation of DU rules.

NGU.

[donco6]

23. I said your idea was stupid.

Not you. I'm assuming there's a difference.

And furthermore, "stupid" is not a meme, it's just a factual observance that you cannot control. It's already out there in mainstream America. Look at all the posts just today talking about people who were watching the Press Conf. at work and how people were laughing at Bush. It just *is*. It cannot be strategized anymore, as the horse is out of the barn.

[ClassWarrior]

27. Did you ever read the story about how he vowed not to be out-Bubba'd...

...ever again after he was defeated for Congress in his first-ever race - by a real, gen-u-ine good ol' Texas boy?

It's an act to cover up the Kennebunkport.

I guess PT Barnum was right.

NGU.

[donco6]

29. No chance.

I'm sorry, I just sincerely do not buy it. He is stupid. He's witless. He's unable to form a sentence. His thought processes are muddled. He cannot anticipate a question. He cannot see a potential problem with an answer.

I respect your right to believe what you believe, but I just cannot.

[ClassWarrior]

30. No chance what? Look it up. Look up his first Congressional race.

The district that includes Midland, Texas, I believe.

NGU.

[ClassWarrior]

31. Look at it this way...

You don't have to be a genius to be a successful used car salesman.

But you sure can't be one if you're stupid.

NGU.

[donco6]

33. And THERE you have it!

Bush is NOT successful! In any way. He's been bandied along by sycophants and the RNC and the business machine, protected as he has been all his life by the wealthy power elite who put the words into his mouth.

He's no genius. And his cars ain't selling at all anymore.

[ClassWarrior]

35. Yeah, and he's going broke in the process, isn't he?

Poor George**.

NGU.

[donco6]

37. I didn't say he wasn't making money.

But he isn't working out in his day job.

[ClassWarrior]

39. Neither is the embezzler, from the boss' point of view.

'Cept the boss feels too sorry for poor dumb Georgie** to fire him.

QED.

NGU.

[donco6]

42. So an embezzler who gets caught is a genius?

No QED, mon.

[ClassWarrior]

44. Keep putting words in my mouth. Beats having an argument.

NGU.

[donco6]

45. I thought it was kinda witty! eom

[The Wielding Truth]

55. Our money. Bush Co. is robbing us blind.

[formernaderite]

58. The problem with painting him as the village fool is that the fool

is the good one. The other extreme I always hear, is that he's evil...the evil one is intelligent. He's neither, he is however a good enough politician to get elected twice...regardless of the math used in achieving that goal. We have to remember we're no longer going to be running against him. We're running against the republican party and their policies.

[babylonsister]

9. He's dumb enough to keep his cohorts of evil and continue to

do their bidding, if not his own. Dumb, clueless, or evil? You decide.

[Disturbed]

18. "I think he plays dumb."

That is my point. I am not saying that he has a high IQ but he is clever, mean spirited and persistent. He tries to cover that up with his silly humor. Casting him as dumb &/or insane lowers the bar. He is the most dangerous man on the planet and we should not underestimate him and his coherts. They are determined to fullfill their agenda.

While most of the focus is on Iraq their domestic agenda is moving forward.

The Right Wing Agenda

Abolish &/or nueter.

Social Security
Medicare
Employer supplied health insurance
Welfare
FEMA
Abortion Rights
Collective Bargaining
FEMA
EPA
Public Education
Public Housing
IRS

[babylonsister]

28. If he's so smart, why is he heading for the iceberg?

Why, when what he's doing is not working, when he's obviously getting bad advice, does he continue to do so, accept it, and retain the advice givers?
Dumb but loyal? I honestly don't get it.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. A mentally disturbed criminal.

This man should be in jail for many, many reasons.

[cliss]

12. As the S.S. America starts to take on water....

Captain Bush stands by the wheel. Our ship is sinking. We are stuck in an insane war of choice which can never be won.

Our treasury is empty. We had to borrow the money $320 billion to fund this war.

And now the water has reached the port holes. People are pleading with the Captain (Ahab) to change course. The Captain sees nothing but sunny skies and palm trees, just ahead. As people are shrieking that there's not much time left, he just smiles and ignores them.

An average IQ?
Sane?

Are you sure?

[ClassWarrior]

16. Business couldn't be better for Bushco.

Are YOU sure?

NGU.

[cliss]

34. About 4 years ago, I wrote a post called the

"Parasite's handbook".

Rule #1:
Do not kill your host. As you lay within the intestines of your host and divert nourishment to yourself which was meant for him, remember to be prudent. As you grow too large and you hatch thousands of eggs which will multiply and endanger your host, your own existence becomes endangered.

For when you kill your host, you die as well

* * * *

If George Bush succeeds in destroying this country, he will destroy world stability. Because at some point, this country will go belly-up. He and his family might have already bought some prime property in Argentina, but it won't save them.

[bedpanartist]

15. He is brilliant

by acting dumb. It attracts flies like shit.

[SeaBob]

17. GWB

He also suffers from a learning disability. you can see evidence of this when he tries to explain complex concepts. This could be a result of his earlier cocaine and alcohol use. I suspect they only exacerbated a condition that previously existed.
He should not be president the job is to much for him

[abluelady]

19. I happen to believe he isn't very bright.

But that aside, how does he keep his job? If any of us performed as poorly, we would be fired. Isn't there a way to give him a small severance package and send him on his way?

[babylonsister]

22. And we 'supposedly' hired him! A "small" severance

package would work for me, and send him away!

[jus_the_facts]

20. He's merely a mouth-piece & puppet on the strings of the PENTAGON...

....nothing more. :think:

[pnwmom]

24. He's not insane, exactly. He has a narcissistic personality disorder.

He needs everyone around him to feed his ego. Laura, Harriet, Karen, etc., are eager to comply.

He is grandiose, and unfortunately his position feeds his grandiosity and gives it power.

He is unable to tolerate disagreement, or even constructive criticism, so his staff keeps him in that bubble.

He creates his own reality. In his own mind, he cannot lie. Whatever he thinks, must be true. Whatever he does, must be right. Whatever he wants, he must deserve.

He has no empathy. Other people exist only as mirrors. Either they reflect a flattering image back at him, or they don't exist at all.

A person with this disorder is easy to manipulate, if you are perceived as an "insider." Cheney is a master.

[Tsiyu]

51. Good Answer

I tend to agree with your assessment :hi:

[pnwmom]

52. It would be easier if he were simply insane -- more obvious.

Instead, many people are "charmed" by him, and others just don't get him . . . because it is almost impossible for those of us who aren't narcissists to imagine the total lack of empathy.

Scary, scary to have a guy like this bragging about being Commander-in-Chief.

[joeprogressive]

53. I completely agree

Narcissism rules him and his stubbornness makes him dumber than he really is. I don't believe he is pure evil like Cheney but his personality disorder makes him just as dangerous. As far as intelligence, he is likely in the just below average to average which makes him very susceptible to manipulation by people around him who are smarter than him.

All in all I would say intelligence is very important for the highest job in the land. However, you could get by in the presidency with mediocre intelligence if you were flexible and could lead with an open mind. Unfortunately Bush does not have this attribute. The right likes to talk about his organizational skills as a business leader but he was a failed businessman. If W was born into a middle class family with good upbringing with the last name Smith, he would probably actually be a better person because the narcissism comes from being a Bush. As far as a career, he would be a car salesman or something like that.

[no_hypocrisy]

25. He's a punk and a whore. Real simple.

[incapsulated]

26. Just because he's dumb doesn't make him innocent

Of his crimes. When he lies, he KNOWS he is lying. When he breaks the law, he KNOWS he is doing so, he just considers himself above it.

He belongs on America's Dumbest Criminals.

Insane? Well, that's subjective, but no court in the land would find him incompetent to stand trial.

[babylonsister]

32. He has plainly said he considered the wiretapping suspect

until he confronted lawyers who told him it was okay. (In yesterday's speech perhaps?)
I guess it depends on what lawyers he consulted. Gonzales, ya think?

[incapsulated]

38. I'm sure

He's the official "legal guy who tells me everything I do is A-OK, or he'll write something that makes it ok and stuff".

[Tab]

36. Something has changed

I've seen older clips where he is very coherent and cogent.

As I posted in another thread here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2528175 he can barely answer questions now.

I do agree he's in his own world of incuriousity, happy to accept what his sycophants tell him, uninterested in learning more, enjoying the ride (usually), running some side agenda along with the other usual suspects, but there's something else going on. And I believe he believes what he says, often (not that he's right, just that he believes that he is).

There is a serious mental decline in operation - actually, more than that, as it seems to change.

I have to think he's medicated or has undergone some other kind of major mental shift. Some days he's quite literate, but usually he's very uncomfortable outside of a highly structured and managed environment. Does he break down under anxiety? Maybe. Is he on some kind of meds? Probably. I'm not a psych professional, but it's clear something's majorly off.

Even in his original debates with Al Gore, he had a deer-in-the-headlights look, but everyone gave him a bye and softballed him questions (gee, is that any different now?), but he's patently worse. Something is going on. He's not necessarily dumb, but he is incapacitated somehow. As such, he's doing stupid things.

I never expected Bush to be of the caliber of, say, Clinton, academically and diplomatically. Bush is a front man. The problem with the 2000 election (aside from the fact that they lobbied to stop the counting) was that Gore is intellectually very capable, but he is (or was) uncomfortable being a front man. Bush is a natural front man, but has little substance behind him. So, others are running the show, but the problem is that their front man, their chosen lightning rod, is starting to crack under pressure, most likely from wholly underestimating the scope of the job required. He's probably medicated up the ying yang, which just puts him more out of touch.

In short, he's not capable and he never was. We didn't want a president that needed on-the-job training, but we got one, except he never learned. It just got worse. And now it's imploding.

[donco6]

40. I agree with your assessment.

In the debates with Ann Richards, Bush was actually witty and seemed more on top of the issues. He could think on his feet a bit. Not as good as Ann, but closer. But there was a marked decline when he debated Gore, and his performance against Kerry was simply embarassing. Pathetic. His rare press conferences are terrible and getting worse. His SOU addresses are so excruciatingly scripted, that when the Dems jumped to their feet to celebrate SS "reform"s demise, he stood there dumbfounded. It wasn't on the script.

I think the guy is stupid, and possibly mentally defective.

[incapsulated]

41. There was a thread about this in GD a while back

Which used video to prove your point and had to raise the question of brain damage from alcohol abuse. I do think that is the case. I also think it's clear that he is emotionally incapable of dealing with too much stress or contradiction without losing control. "Don't tell him any bad news", remember?

[mmonk]

43. He knows what he is doing. The dumb people are those that

vote for and support him, in any fashion, including policy.

[bush_is_wacko]

46. Well he may not be able to get off with an insanity plea but there are

degrees of insanity and I believe he has a psychosis of some sort. He does indeed believe the crap he spews but so does an un medicated schizophrenic.

I agree he is not "criminally" insane, just a criminal.

[Orangepeel]

47. He is egotistical, arrogant, feels entitled, and thinks he's always right

He doesn't sincerely believes anything, except that he and his are better than everyone else, he shouldn't be questioned and whatever he wants is right by default.

[Disturbed]

49. I am enjoying the replies.

I also suspect that he is having some brain damage going on and is on some medication for that. I posted this because I strongly feel that Cheney should be Impeached first. If that could be done and Cheney is deposed I feel that Bush could be next. Just as the "cutting off the snake's head" can be effective in causing the rest of the snake to be ineffective, Cheney is the snake head in the analogy.

[The Wielding Truth]

56. Rove is so harmful to this country. He should be in prison.

Soon,I hope.

[pnwmom]

50. That's all a part of his narcissism. n/t

[Nite Owl]

48. Don't think he is dumb either

he may play that on tv but he is fully aware of what is being done. I think some of what we see as being incoherent is because he has to so carefully watch what he says. It's all a lie and it gets hard to watch and not let some truth out so he has to hesitate and word things so that they don't really say what is happening. These guys had a plan and it has been going the way that they want up to recently. They had no intention for example of Iraq going well in our sense of the meaning. They wanted chaos and a reason to 'stay the course'. War is good for (their) business and so is fear and (fake)patriotism. This whole denial of his decision making when they blame others in the administration is to make it look like his hands are clean, it wasn't him it was someone else.

[bklyncowgirl]

54. Personally I like to believe that my president is smarter than I am.

I'll agree that he is not stupid.

I do think that he is a person with a history of making bad decisions and screwing up in major ways. Only his family connections and privilege have kept him from disaster.

People voted for him because he seems like a regular guy compared with the highly intelligent but seemingly condescending Al Gore. This is something it do not understand. I like the idea that the man with his finger on the button is considerably smarter than I am.

I do not get that feeling from listening to George W. Bush.

[sendero]

57. There is no relation between..

.... basic intelligence and delusion. I've seen smart people delude themselves many many times in my life. I've seen people who really think that if you wish upon a star hard enough ("positive thinking"), you can make anything happen.

I've known folks who, even after you have told them you don't believe them any more, will continue to lie to your face.

Bush** simply CANNOT BELIEVE that he doesn't have the stuff. He CANNOT ACCEPT that he will go down in history as a miserable failure. He will KEEP DELUDING HIMSELF UNTIL THE BITTER END, because to do otherwise would be disastrous to the self-image he has, and has cultivated in the media for 10 years plus.

[leesa]

59. At minimum a sociopath...I lean toward a psychopath with all the dead

bodies surrounding him.