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> cultivated an "average guy" persona that had a disdain for expert/elite opinion

I think you need to untwist these opinions a bit.

Firstly, "cultivating" implies that his "average guy" activities were an act. From all accounts, it sounds like he has continued his activities after leaving public life (something I am eminently grateful to him for). I really don't think they were or are an act.

I would also say that "expert" and "elitist" are two very different things. Considering expert opinions does not sound like something he didn't do.

> doesn't excuse the (bad) decisions he made

I really can't agree more, but its the reasons why he made those decisions that I find important. Previously I just felt like he was an idiot, and therefore made stupid decisions. Now, I've basically come to the opinion that while I disagree with him on serious issues (for fucks sake, why did you invade Iraq!) he didn't do it from a malicious point of view or because he was an idiot. He was merely wrong, with terribly catastrophic results.