[rainsford]

While the author seems to blame his political opponents for the perception of GWB as unintelligent, a more balanced analysis should probably also consider what Bush and the Republicans did to further that idea. When you use words like "elite" and "intellectual" (and "windsurfing" for some reason...) as pejoratives and go to great lengths to avoid publicly highlighting your intelligence and playing up how average you are...you probably shouldn't be surprised if people don't consider you a great thinker.

I'd certainly believe that Bush is smart, but is the author really complaining that people judged him based on what they saw of his public persona rather than how he behaved in private meetings in the Oval Office that they had no way of knowing about? Had Bush's public face been more like what the author claims he saw in private, I doubt there would be any such stereotype about Bush.

Basically, is anyone surprised or appalled that it turns out that perception matters at least as much as substance?