Is Obama Smart?
Is Obama Smart?
The piece concludes "not very." But "smart" is not defined, notice. I think Obama is plenty smart in the sense of IQ points. Political smarts are something else, though, and so is wisdom. Those have to come through experience, and the making of mistakes that the trial-and-error of experience always provides. An over-confident Winston Churchill made a catastrophic mistake at Gallipoli, which very nearly ended his public career before it started. But that experience made him a much wiser man, and eventually a highly successful wartime leader.
Obama was not ready to be president because he badly lacked experience. It's not that he isn't smart enough, it's that he doesn't know enough, and that's why he acts unwisely. No matter how smart you are, without the wisdom of experience the best you can be is quick-witted, articulate, and shrewd. Those can make you a successful car salesman, say, but for the Presidency, as has become obvious, they aren't enough.
Byron
The piece concludes "not very." But "smart" is not defined, notice. I think Obama is plenty smart in the sense of IQ points. Political smarts are something else, though, and so is wisdom. Those have to come through experience, and the making of mistakes that the trial-and-error of experience always provides. An over-confident Winston Churchill made a catastrophic mistake at Gallipoli, which very nearly ended his public career before it started. But that experience made him a much wiser man, and eventually a highly successful wartime leader.
Obama was not ready to be president because he badly lacked experience. It's not that he isn't smart enough, it's that he doesn't know enough, and that's why he acts unwisely. No matter how smart you are, without the wisdom of experience the best you can be is quick-witted, articulate, and shrewd. Those can make you a successful car salesman, say, but for the Presidency, as has become obvious, they aren't enough.
Byron
posted by Byron | Tuesday, August 09, 2011
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