Bush is Not Stupid

Ever since the election in 2000, many people on the left has liked to call Bush stupid. It comes in many forms, but many a comedian has made a name for themselves by poking fun at the seeming idiocies of George W. Bush. This, of course, gets turned around by Bush and his supporters, as a demonstration of "liberal elitism" ... and they aren't wrong.

This has been a rather powerful tool. It allows people to claim that something was done because Bush is stupid, rather than seeing (or admitting) that Bush and his advisors are consciously pushing a particular policy. But this is a tool. Bush is consciously mis-speaking, consciously presenting himself as a bit of a buffoon ... or rather, presenting himself as being just like the "common man."

On that note, and this is something I've been telling people but didn't have a link to provide, a friend passed along this clip:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1342132664644484246&sourceid=igoogle

I disagree with the editor's conclusion. Bush is not senile. He is a politician and, like marketing gurus, an expert in presentinghimself to the public. This video, rather than showing senility, shows that Bush made a conscious decision between 1994 and 2000 to shift his image. It is an act and a policy.

Back to the issue of "liberal elitism." This tactic of Bush's is actually quite ingenious. What it does is drive a wedge between "liberal" intellectuals and workers. The intellectuals, by making fun of Bush in this manner, are making fun of working people. There are many workers who do in fact make the verbal stumbles that Bush so deftly imitates; and who can doubt why, given the state of education in the United States. While these workers may not align themselves with Bush, the intellectuals by their actions push them away. This at a time when what is needed are intellectuals who can play a role in real left politics and discussion.