Intelligence: A lost virtue in American politics

Randolph T. Holhut: 'Intelligence: A lost virtue in American politics'
Posted on Wednesday, September 29 @ 10:10:11 EDT
By Randolph T. Holhut
Smirking Chimp
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=18040&mode=nested&order=0

DUMMERSTON, Vt. - There will be many contrasts between John F. Kerry and George W. Bush that will be seen in Thursday's first presidential debate.

I think the biggest one that Americans will have to consider is the difference between having an intelligent and intellectually curious man in the White House and having a man who seems to be proud of his lack of intellectual curiosity.

Leave aside the policy differences and the campaign styles and focus on this.

Both Bush (Andover) and Kerry (St. Paul's) went to upper-crust prep schools. Both went to Yale and partook of an Ivy League education. Both have post-graduate degrees - Bush has an MBA from Harvard Business School and Kerry has a law degree from Boston College Law School.

On paper, the two men have remarkably similar educational experiences. So why does Kerry seem so much more intelligent than Bush?