Just How Smart Is Obama?

by William Teach | May 26, 2012 9:52 am

Over at Real Clear Politics[1], Jack Kelly has a long piece which says that Obama is more like a 40 watt CFL in a sea of 100 watt incandescent

Barack Obama is the smartest man with the highest IQ ever to be elected to the presidency, historian Michael Beschloss told radio talk show host Don Imus in November of 2008.

“So what is his IQ?” Mr. Imus asked. Mr. Beschloss didn’t know. He was just assuming.

Many shared that assumption. Adjectives frequently applied to Mr. Obama are “smart” (278 million hits on Google), “intelligent” (62 million) and “brilliant” (24 million).

There is little evidence to support it. Mr. Obama went to Harvard, but so did George W. Bush, who some liberals consider dumber than dirt. The president won’t release his transcripts, so we can’t judge by his grades. Mr. Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review, but when he was selected, popularity mattered more than scholarship.

Mr. Obama joined an undistinguished law firm, where he tried no cases. So no help there.

Many cite the president’s oratorical skills, but he often rambles when he speaks without a teleprompter. That’s because his brain “is moving so fast that the mouth can’t keep up,” wrote Meghan Daum of the Los Angeles Times.

Mr. Kelly provides many, many more examples of a supposed smart president who never is truly capable of showing how smart he is. The question is “is Obama really not that bright, or is he simply a smart guy who is just a boob?” 57 states. “Austrian” language. Being called an incompetent and an amateur by Bill Clinton. Insulting our allies. Most of his legislation can’t pass. The legislation that does tends to be really, really unpopular. His signature legislation (outsourced to Congress), the Stimulus, was an abject failure, except in terms of funneling lots of money to companies that were bound to fail (Solyndra, FirstSolar, etc), but rewarded campaign contributors. His other signature legislation, ObamaCare (again, outsourced to Congress and lobbyists), is despised by a majority of Americans.

So, just how smart is Obama? Who knows. What we do know that he is a disaster. If he is smart, it’s book smart, because he sure doesn’t seem to understand what happens out in the real world. Oh, he can fake it when talk (down) to people, but his policies tend to make things worse. Furthermore, imagine how foolish Obama would look without Joe Biden around. And now, we’re seeing that his campaign skills have eroded, making constant bad decisions by pushing his shiny distractions.

Bookworm[2] loves the article, as he is mentioned (Doug Ross[3] is mentioned, as well). Wake Up America[4] points out that for such a smart guy, Obama is campaigning dumb.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[5]. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach[6].