Mr Tzu:

The fixation on Presidential IQ is a rather recent development. The two Presidents with the highest IQs during my lifetime were kicked out of office. The records show Nixon may have had the have the highest IQ since Wilson and TR (143) while I do not know Carter’s IQ, I accept it as quite high. Kennedy on the other hand is all show and no go with a validated score of 119. Truman probably had a higher native intelligence the FDR. I don’t know about Ike but I bet he was in the 125-130 range. Ford was no slouch either. He finished at the top of his class and Michigan and Yale Law School. We all know now that Bush is in the same range as Ike. Gore is at besh no more intelligent the Bush and by academic performance probably is not as intelligent.

My guess is that the best Presidents have had IQs in the 10-130 range. With the execption of TR most of the really brilliant men to hold the office have been mediocre at best (Wilson,Nixon, Clinton) to disasters at worst (Jefferson, Carter, Hoover).