Al Gore is a liar!

[El Supremo]

Sorry for the provocative subject line.

But I've been listening to Al Gore's new book 'The Assault on Reason' and early on he says that George Bush is not stupid. He says that * is a lot of things such as un-inquisitive and controlled by gut feelings. But from his experience, he says that * is smart.

Come on. anyone who makes such ludicrous statements as can be found at BushSpeaks.com or who contradicts himself all the time or who was a poor student can't have much intelligence. But that, in itself, isn't as scary as the fact that such morons are easily controlled by others.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Bush stupidity IS AN ACT to keep you

underestimating hin.

Gore is correct on that one

[Jamastiene]

8. Shouldn't that be misunderestimating?

:P

That may be true.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

50. That's what Paul Begala was saying in his book. He lived in Texas.

and observed Bush pretty closely for many years.

[whistle]

2. I think more evidence than that is required to back up your accusation

[frogcycle]

3. Al Gore is a genius

he's smart enough to know that saying that will not in any way support anything the man does, but it does stand a chance of helping his credibility with at least a few bushies

I am sure he things the guy is dumber than two rocks, but he is too smart to say so.

[Jamastiene]

4. This should be interesting.

:popcorn:


:evilgrin:

Maybe in Al Gore's personal opinion, Chimpy is not stupid. If he truly believes Chimpy is not stupid, then he is not lying, technically.

Your thread title, btw, was just asking for it. I couldn't resist the popcorn smiley. :P

[bluemarkers]

5. bush is lazy

I happen to think he is stupid as well.

but if graded on the NCLB standards, bush is probably a genius

[zabet]

6. The monkeyman

is not stupid. He has accomplished what he set out to do. Even lying to accomplish it and
getting away with it. I have to agree with Al. Sorry.:shrug:
:smoke:

[lonestarnot]

40. Only smart enough for bushes and trimming them to twigs.

[marlakay]

7. He says in the book that Bush is purposely acting stupid

That is what he thinks america wants and for awhile they did and now realize what they got!

I don't think he means that he is real smart, but just not as dumb as people think...

[SeattleGirl]

10. Agreed, marlakay. And I do believe more and more people are

getting tired of his "Stupid is as stupid does" act. It's cute when Forrest Gump says it; not so cute when the pResident of the US acts it!

[bdamomma]

19. * is playing us for fools, I don't think he is as stupid as he seems.

apparently he is still there huh?

[karlrschneider]

11. I can see why people might believe that but what I don't get is

why would somebody WANT to appear to be a dumbshit?

Maybe in some abstract way it's a 'smart' thing to do but it's pretty damn nuts...
:eyes:

[El Supremo]

20. He wants to appear stupid because he thinks it appeals to the masses.

An old southern trick.

But in his case it is the only thing he's got going for him. He IS STUPID.

[karlrschneider]

31. I guess that's possible, but I'd kinda like to think my president was at least as smart

as I am...
Up until 2001 they all were. It's a mad mad...mad world.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. He is, and that is the trick

his act is about the guy next door you'd have a beer with

Its an act, and an effective one

To pull it off you need to have brains

He is as intelligent and as smooth as a used car salesman... and we... rather the masses that swalloed it, have been had

[karlrschneider]

38. Well, that leaves us with two options: He's smart enough to act dumb on purpose, or

he's just dumb to begin with.

I think I'll go with option B.

:D

[John Q. Citizen]

41. If you study his speeches, you will notice that some he pulls off quite well, and some he

mangles horribly.

What's with that?

On and off stupid?

Reagan could deliver a speech well into his mental confusion, he just read what was in front of him.

[John Q. Citizen]

36. I think bush is more intelligent than Reagan or Ford were. Not vastly more so

but incrementally more so. And I mean lifelong, not after Reagan manifested Alzheimer's.

[karlrschneider]

37. He's smarter than we think but not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

How's that?
;-)

[John Q. Citizen]

39. that's probably true, except we're fucked and he's still the decider, so far...

[Lisa]

55. works for me! (n/t)

[El Supremo]

13. What chapter does Gore say that?

Maybe I missed it. But I'm listening to a transcript recited by an actor who was in 'Armageddon'.

[Raksha]

48. I don't recall where Al Gore says Bush is purposely acting stupid,

and I'm now reading The Assault on Reason for the second time. It's in the second chapter on religion, which I just re-read last night. He says that what makes Bush appear stupid is his lack of curiosity, which he believes is based on being SOOOO sure he's right that he isn't open to input from any other source, whether it's a matter of opinion or a matter of fact. He doesn't seek out new information (and doesn't even want to hear it) because he thinks he's already got all the answers.

[Elwood P Dowd]

9. He did tell a big, fat lie in 1993.

During his debate with Ross Perot on CNN, he said Smoot-Hawley caused the Great Depression.

[Odin2005]

14. It didn't cause it, but it damn sure excacerbated the situation.

[Elwood P Dowd]

30. I support Gore on just about every issue

but not his fake free trade agenda from the 90s. I'm told that privately he regrets much of that. Anyway, saying Smoot-Hawley even contributed significant problems during the Great Depression is like saying your field goal kicker cost you a chance to win the Super Bowl after you lost 45-10. I just don't buy the corporate propaganda on that.

[John Q. Citizen]

12. Gore is right and you are wrong. Stupid people don't steal two elections and

get away with it scott free.

Einstien was a poor student too. By your standards, Einstien couldn't have had much intelligence.

bush is dislexic, as is george sr. You confuse that with lack of intelligence.

If you are so smart, why haven't you made yourself and your buddies as much money as bush has?

[RestoreGore]

15. And smart people don't let them steal elections

[El Supremo]

16. Einstein was not poor in college.

He was way beyond his secondary schools and was rated poor. But, he didn't get his doctorate until much after his Theory of Relativity.

Bush was an Idiot all through secondary and college. He only got his degrees because of his father and grandfather. And yes, he is dyslectic, but not as bad as Niel.

[BlueStater]

21. Oh, please

Bush IS stupid. He just surrounds himself with a bunch of weasels who will try every dirty trick in the book in order to win.

To borrow something from "Seinfeld", there isn't more to Bush than meets the eye, there's less.

[John Q. Citizen]

24. You go with Seinfeld, I'll go with Gore. I don't claim bush is a superior intellect,

only that he has average to slightly above average intelligence.

bush is a criminal and so are his friends, but that's not the same as stupid. Lazy, yes.

Is anyone here claiming bush worked his ass off studying to get C's in college?

No, he skated with C's. He didn't care. But that's not the same as stupid.

[Elwood P Dowd]

28. Delete.

Wrong poster. Sorry

[DKRC]

17. He's right - G'Duh is cunning

I believe he's extremely unstable, but he has the native intelligence of a world class bully & uses his simpleton act to lull people into "misunderestimating" him while he goes about doing just what they planned all along.

[John Q. Citizen]

27. Yep, and it works well for him. Look at how many people assume he's stupid while they are being

conned.

[DKRC]

29. Exactly!

He can do the most damage when the nation's guard is lowered, and he has.

:grr:

[Lisa]

34. it's "the soft bigotry of low expectations"

Another way he benefits is that people let him get away with a lot more than if he were seen to be smart and hardworking. Plus, they don't expect him to do as much work (watch those Bushies, who normally whine about "college slackers", "lazy government workers", and "welfare moms", backpedal when it's pointed out to them that Bush takes a LOT of vacation time!).

[Kazak]

18. I'm a liar, you're a liar, everybody is a liar!

Truth!

[nini]

22. The sad truth is he's not.. all of his shit is intentional

Katrina - he couldn't care less and it showed.

Iraq - planned.

it goes on and on. He knows what he's doing - raping America and all it represents.

Al Gore is right - sorry to say.

[Hissyspit]

23. There are different kinds of intelligences. n/t

[dpbrown]

25. Bush doesn't say those things because he's stupid...

He says them because they're lies. He's just not as good a liar as his father was.

[aquart]

26. Gore's right.

Being an aw shucks good ol' boy is a very pretty cover for fascism. Look how well it's done.

[Lisa]

33. I think that Bush is cunning when it's about taking advantage

There are different types of human intelligence, and this is one of them. Even during his high school and college years, he was skilled at picking out the most influential kids and doing things to win them over or make them feel obligated (and not just the rich/popular ones either). I think it would be rather dangerous to ignore Bush just because he is lazy and incurious, and makes such a big deal of being that way. I've noticed that when he's bullying people, he is quite adept at zeroing on things that they are sensitive about, and pushing just far enough that he can laugh it off later as "just a joke". Truly stupid bullies usually end up getting into a lot of trouble because they don't know when to quit ... the fact that Bush is in his 60s and hasn't been punished does suggest to me that he is clever that way.

[Raksha]

51. You mean like when he said to Senator Jim Webb, "How's your boy?"

about his son who was on active duty in Iraq at the time.

Re I've noticed that when he's bullying people, he is quite adept at zeroing on things that they are sensitive about, and pushing just far enough that he can laugh it off later as "just a joke".

It stopped just barely this side of being a threat, maybe an inch from being a threat, so that you couldn't accuse him of actually threatening Jim Webb's son, BUT...neither could anyone claim it was joke. Not even Chimpy!

[Lisa]

52. perfect example!

Thanks for reminding me -- that's exactly the kind of thing I meant. Bush can pretend that a comment has been taken out of context, and that he was either "just kidding", or in the case of Senator Webb, that he intended it to be an honest inquiry about how the young man was doing. (I seem to recall that some of the Bushies later took this position, claiming that the Senator was being "too sensitive" and that he was obviously obsessed with getting Bush no matter what -- "if he hadn't said anything, Webb would have claimed that he didn't care enough to ask", etc.)

Other examples -- as weird as it might seem, given his much-mocked abuse of language, I suspect that Bush actually fancies himself a master of wordplay (as in the "are you a loper? an interloper?" comments with Gail Sheehy).
http://gailsheehy.com/Politics/polimain_bush3.html
He has taught himself to despise intellectual abilities, but this is an exception, because it gives him such an advantage (and allows him to vent his dislike of people, besides). He might have learned how to give under-the-radar insults at an early age, because his parents (particularly his mom) may have punished him for more obvious back-talking. (Heck, his mom might have guided him into developing this "talent" since she is inclined toward it herself ... not uncommon for women of her age and social background. I've seen it in my own family!)

A psychologist I know has speculated that Bush might get a secret thrill out of being able to break rules of courtesy (representing parental authority, perhaps?) when he utters some ambiguous statement, and (as you point out) it stops just barely short of being threatening or inappropriate. There was that time he made that "hanging" comment to Coretta Scott King -- sure, it could have referred to the portrait of her husband, but if that were the case, why did at least one other person in the room think he was making a double entendre, and laugh out loud? Not a good choice of words, and surely an educated man like Bush who is used to making public appearances would have been able to avoid that altogether?
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/21/se.02.html

The "benign mischief" Sheehy mentions can slide into mean jibes, pretty quickly. He frequently teases people whom he feels are below him (and/or whom he perceives as out to get him, such as the press). Such as when he taunts reporters at the ranch:
http://www.dubyaspeak.com/incidents.phtml?page=5
This kind of thing started pretty early -- the recount wasn't even over in 2000 when he tricked a reporter into drinking out of the creek, then told him that it was contaminated with cattle feces:
http://www.time.com/time/poy2000/mag/ranch.html
(By way of contrast -- Al Gore's idea of a practical joke is to hide a zucchini in someone's satchel, or get a photograph of himself pretending to be giving a presentation to somebody who has fallen asleep. Not as "edgy" as Dubya.)

Bush had a tendency to roughhouse, and he sometimes uses it to intimidate people ... probably he figures that they will be too shocked to complain, especially if it happens at a high-level public function where people are supposed to be minding their manners! There have already been multiple postings on DU about his tendency to rub the heads of bald guys he's being introduced to ... as well as when he gave the German chancellor an unsolicited shoulder massage at the G8 meeting.
The football incident:
"Bush has a pretty good arm," reporter Tucker Carlson writes, "except that all the passes appear to be aimed at the gaggle of reporters watching him from the sidelines. A Fox News correspondent looks up just in time to save his pearly caps from a particularly clean spiral. Bush laughs and cocks his arm again. A newspaper reporter turns out to have slower reflexes. The ball hits him square in the chest, almost knocking him down. Bush throws another, even harder. This one beans a cameraman. It's clear that Bush is doing this on purpose....Bush is trotting around the grass with a demented look on his face."
http://www.bushwatch.org/bushclean.htm
The headlock incident:
"One evening, as Naishtat left the Capitol in the company of friends from New York, Bush slipped up behind him and put him in a playful headlock–as state troopers stood by and laughed and the New Yorkers worried that maybe what they’d heard about Texas was true after all."
http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=711

[sellitman]

35. He ain't a liar

He is just wrong in this one instance. That's not a crime is it?

I still can't wait to vote for him again.

[mzmolly]

42. Molly Ivins said the same thing essentially. If one watches * debate Ann Richards

when he ran for Gobinator of Texas (ala YouTube) he was a different man. He's NOT stupid, he's trying to be the guy people want to "have a beer with" and it has worked for him so far. He doesn't want to appear "elitist" and all. :eyes:

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. I agree with Gore

bush is really NOT stupid. He graduated from Harvard and Yale. You can't be stupid and survive at either of those schools.

He is also smart enough to get (s)elected president.

[Ino]

44. Video comparing Bush's speaking skills 1994/2004

He spoke clearly & quickly in 1994... and without the drawwwwl. The video suggests his deterioration is presenile dementia.

Contrast 1994 to 2004
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/bushvideos/youtube/bushtenyears.htm

2000 Bush/Gore debate video can be found here.
http://tinyurl.com/5enuk

[Random_Australian]

45. Wrong. When you say that poor speech is a sign that he "can't" have much

intelligence, you overlooked the idea that he could think if he wanted, and just isn't trying because he's been spoonfed everything for his entire life.

Furthermore, I speak funny (even if I type rather more fluently) and I am *not* simple.

[DemGa]

46. I agree with Al Gore

I've long thought that Bush was intelligent, it's his personality that's seriously messed up.

[Raksha]

47. I don't think Bush is all that bright, but I doubt that he's as stupid

as he appears to be. I think when it comes down to a choice between evil and and stupid, he definitely prefers playing to the common perception that he's too dumb to know what he's doing (example: his non-response to Hurricane Katrina). The only alternative possibility is that he DOES know what he's doing, but he's too selfish and evil to care how his actions affect others. Which happens to be the truth, but he's not about to advertise that fact.

[Lisa]

53. someone here at DU came up with a wonderful term -- "functional stupidity"

This was way back in 2001 or 2002. I forget who it was, but I have been using it ever since then to describe Bush's actions. Even if he isn't dumb, by not trying to understand situations and being too arrogant to accept advice that goes against his preconceptions, the decisions he makes are so poor that he might as well be stupid!

[NastyRiffraff]

49. There's a big difference

between intellectually lazy and having a low IQ (that is, stupid).

Personally, I think Bush's IQ is probably average. But he has no curiousity, no desire to learn new things, no interest, in his own words, in "nuance." So he does indeed come across as stupid. He feels no need to learn about the word, new technology, new ways of thinking. He's fine with others doing his research for him, and telling him the results, as long as it fits in with his very narrow world view.

Gore sees right through this, including his own stated desire to be perceived as dumber than he really is. Most of us can't imagine that desire, but it serves his purposes. He can't be expected to know, and therefore can't be blamed.

So no, Gore didn't lie. He sees Bush exactly as he is: intellectually uncurious and dishonest.

[Lisa]

54. Bush's own wish to be "misunderestimated"

I agree -- I think this is a useful little shelter he's built for himself. It saves him from the pressure of being expected to be brilliant all the time (which is what we tend to expect of those who bill themselves as high achievers), but gives him the option of surprising people by showing he knows more than they expected.


He made a rather revealing comment that might be applicable here. Back during his Andover days, Bush got a bad mark because he used a word he found in a thesaurus, and he didn't double-check the dictionary to make sure that it made sense ("lacerates" instead of "tears"(n)). I'm pretty sure that in his autobiography, he ended up saying that he wouldn't take that kind of a risk again. Not that he would learn more vocabulary, or that he would avoid using words he wasn't certain about -- but that he would stop trying. Most of us can get past criticism we received for a single grade-school composition, but Bush remembered. Actually I question his memory of the event, because most teachers I know would not give a zero for ONE word in a paper (and several have commented that they would actually be pleased that a teenager was bothering to use a thesaurus!).
http://www.godeke.org/News/PhiAlumnus_GeorgeWBush5.htm




The folks who conducted this act on our country on September 11th made a big mistake. They misunderestimated the fact that we love a neighbor in need. They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the commander-in-chief, too.
-- CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia, Sep. 26, 2001

They misunderestimated me.
-- Bentonville, Arkansas, Nov. 6, 2000