Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, has a shocking revelation to share with us: George Bush is neither terribly bright nor insightful. Here’s how the senator described his discussions with the president regarding Iraq.
I just felt a little bit underwhelmed by our discussions, the complexity of them, the depth of them.
Bush is probably a nice man. He’s probably a well-meaning man. But one lesson we should take away from the Bush presidency is that choosing a president is not akin to selecting a homecoming king (or queen). Qualities like amiability and aw-shucks humility are great attributes, but they shouldn’t take primacy over things like intelligence, curiosity, and self-awareness. We apply the same criteria to presidents that we apply to all the other celebrities paraded across our media: they should have nice smiles, they should smell good, and they should be kind to children or small animals. I will gladly elect the smug know-it-all with the rank body odor as long as I’m convinced that this person shares my priorities for this country and possesses the skill to make the bargains that will get things done. I don’t necessarily need to like my president as a person.
The president represents the common people, but that doesn’t mean the president should be common. We elected a common man for president and have paid the price.
