I never found Bush to be idiotic, because I looked at ALL the evidence.
His address to Congress after 9/11 was stellar! He greatly reassured the American public. It is why his approval ratings were so high after 9/11. Interestingly, he wrote it himself.
His position speech on stem-cell research was thorough and well-reasoned. Throughout, it was hard to tell on which side he’d come down. Excellent bit of work. Again, his work.
His 2003 State of the Union with his declaration of the intent to launch PEPFARS. Excellent work. And he followed through! This was his policy plan.
His decision to hold fast in Iraq, to push for the “Surge” strategy. He had to determine the viability of the plan. He clearly made the right call. His decision!
When he goes places and gives speeches to small groups, the reviews are always the same after people meet him: He’s not at all what we expected, based on what the press reported; He’s warm, engaging, funny, wise, impressive even. They’re always surprised.
Did he make some bad calls? Absolutely. Putin? Yep! Bailouts? Check! Spending? Check! When he was acting as a Conservative, he did well. When he was busy being “moderate”, he did poorly.
The Presidency is not so much about intelligence as wisdom and character. Bush has good character and some decent wisdom. And he’s not stupid. Obama? Stupid is as stupid does. No character or wisdom. None. Character matters. Obama may be smart, but I have never seen ANY evidence of this.
