Who Looks Like a "Dunce" Now?

It's far from clear to me that grades are the best proxies for intelligence -- much less fitness to lead. I've seen far too many "geniuses" who lack life skills; they wouldn't know to come out of the rain without an umbrella. There are many, many kinds of intelligence, and academic prowess, though important, is only one of them.

That being said, the left has tried to make sport of George W. Bush's intellect for years. See this ("Do Dim Bulbs Make Better Presidents?") and this.

Their candidates against Bush -- Kerry and Gore -- were presumed to be more thoughtful, more intellectual than the funloving President. Just last year, we were breathlessly informed, voters "saw" Kerry as "more intelligent."

REEEALLLY?

Today, Kerry's academic records from Yale are finally out. Get a load of this. He had 4 D's in his freshman year alone; Bush got one in his entire four years. Kerry's cumulative average was a 76; Bush's was a 77. If we're going to measure "stupidity" by grades, well, Kerry's got nothing to brag about -- to put it mildly.

But we've heard this song before. Remember "intellectual" Al Gore, philosopher and father of the internet? Like Kerry, he wouldn't release his grades (Kerry finally did, today), but the Washington Post got hold of them, and the result was this embarassing piece: "Gore's Grades Belie Image of Studiousness" ("In his sophomore year at Harvard, Gore's grades were lower than any semester recorded on Bush's transcript from Yale.")

Bottom line? Live by grades, die by grades. And always remember -- people who are truly intelligent (Ronald Reagan, George W.) don't always have to keep reminding you about it. And they don't mind being "misunderestimated" by intellectual snobs.