Can you think of a world leader as stupid as Bush (past or present)?

[undeterred]

I can't...

[efhmc]

1. No.

[Coexist]

2. King George III

please note the delightful coincidence of names.

[Burma Jones]

3. Warren Harding

George III
Neville Chamberlain

[MisterP]

11. Harding was a duffer, but not entirely stupid: he was good at cards (and

nothing else). One of my high-school classmates was a paternal descendent.
King George had porphyria , so that may have moved him from "stupid" to "nuts"; Britannica describes him as not leaving his bed for anything because even moving a little left him screaming for a few hours.
I recall one particularly stupid Byzantine (or Eastern Roman, same thing) Emperor, though.

[kenny blankenship]

4. No and I shudder to think

what would have happened if the Soviet system had ever elevated someone as stupid as Bush to power. Monsters, yes, they had some monsters but not crazy AND stupid at the same time. The world would have been doomed.

[goclark]

5. Not in my life time and I am 60 yrs. old nt

[Dr.Phool]

6. You missed a real classic- Idi Amin

He put the "buff" in buffon, and the "blood" in bloodthirsty.

I think Idi was short for Idiot.

[undeterred]

16. I knew he was evil, never heard that he was stupid

Not hard to believe though.

[DemoTex]

18. Idi Amin and the Scots

The infamous mass murderer, grist for the mill for British comedy shows, was also the subject of Giles Foden’s novel The Last King of Scotland, which explored his strange relationship with the Scots.

The title came from one of Amin’s many outrageous remarks: "If the Scots want me to be their king, I will."

Amin learned to play the bagpipes, wore the kilt and put one regiment of his own army into kilts.


The former Ugandan leader Idi Amin at Edinburgh Castle in 1971, where he attended the beating of the retreat.

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=972&id=788382003

Giles Foden also wrote an excellent piece in Granta a number of years back called something like My Dinner with Idi Amin. It was a "what kind of meat is that?" kind of piece, with cannibalism a thinly veiled undercurrent. It was great. It reminded me of the cult film Eating Raoul.

[Straight Shooter]

7. I don't think of bush as a leader.

He's a token figurehead.

[Old_Fart]

8. Is this a trick question?

The question would be a great hiccup cure. I can't think of anyone on the face of this earth as stupid as Bush.

[carrowsboy]

9. Reagan

I mean he was his idol, right? And Ronnie was one step over feeble.

[undeterred]

10. I don't think Reagan was as dumb as Bush- but he had Alzheimers symptoms

well before he left office.

[madrchsod]

13. ronny was a classic politician

like him or hate him he was one of the best politicians of the 1900`s

[ToeBot]

14. You mean 19th century don't you? n/t

[aePrime]

15. I doubt it.

The 19th century ran from 1801 to 1900. A little before his time.

Edited to add, Welcome to DU!

[Cleita]

12. I can think of one leader (not a world leader) who was almost

as stupid as Bush and that would be Idi Amin, deposed ruler of Uganda.
Well, Bush hasn't executed any of his golf caddies yet for giving him the wrong club. But I wonder if he would if he could? He has a bit of that mad dictator thing about him. Idi used to dress up in outrageous military uniforms too. Remember Bush's pathetic attempt at wearing somewhat military looking windbreakers when addressing the military? Imagine if he could wear what he really wanted to?

[Hardrada]

17. Nicholas II, Romanov ruler, Tsar of all the Russias

A dimbulb who relied on bad advisors and held unthinkingly to idiotic policies and worn out traditions. Who also had a dim and disconnected wife.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Adolph Hitler - despite his alleged "genius".

His really stupid decisions are staggering:

His persection of the Jews was incredibly stupid. Most were "patriotic" Germans and the loss of their highly skilled labor and intellectual capabilities in virtually every field were sorely missed in WWII. Not to mention his persecution of them to the very end diverted resources from the war effort.

His beyond stupid decision to invade the USSR.

His even more stupid decision to take over from his generals.

The man was a nincompoop of the first order.

His only "genius" was to stir up the "patriotism" of the German people by arduous flag waving and fear of the "bolsheviks" into following his lead into genocide and war.

Much like our current nincompoop now infesting the White House.