What do you base your opinion on? He has no published work as Editor of Harvard Law Review, no important legislation in the State Senate or US Senate, probably didn’t even write his “bestsellers” himself. He has surrounded himself with Marxists, socialists and those that generally hate America (Rev. Wright comes to mind). He clearly has no sense of economics and he isn’t even admitted in Illinois to practice law! I would love to know why you consider him so smart.
What do you base your opinion on? ... I would love to know why you consider him so smart.
Obama graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude. This honor is based entirely on grades(*1). The grades in most law school courses are based on exams. The exams at HLS are given anonymously(*2).
(Some of the upper level work at HLS is based on seminars and in-depth legal writing. But it is still necessary to take regular courses. The first year work appears to consist entirely of standard courses.) It is clear that there is no way to achieve the GPA required for a magna cum laude without being an intelligent individual who out-performs his fellow students in a series of fair competitions.
Since Obama was able to graduate near the top of his class, it is clear that the admissions committee at HLS correctly judged that he had academic merit.
Since he graduated near the top of his class at a place which is well known for being full of smart people, he must be smart himself. I don't claim that he is smarter than everyone.
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(*1) From the Harvard Law School Handbook of Academic Policies:
"Graduation with Honors
"If a student completes the requirements for the J.D. degree with distinction, the student will receive the degree cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude. The summa cum laude is determined by the requirement of a 7.20 GPA. ... The magna cum laude will be awarded to the top 10 percent of the class, excluding the summa. The cum laude will be awarded to the students in the next 30 percent of the class."
The General Grade Point Average is the average of three separate annual averages. The three separate annual averages are calculated by assigning the following scores to letter grades:
A+ 8 A 7 A- 6
B+ 5 B 4 B- 3
C 2 D 1 F 0
(*2) Also from HLS Handbook:
"General Examination Policy ...
Law School examinations are anonymous, and self-identification of any kind is not permitted. Students should not put their name, class, program, school, or any personal comments that might identify them anywhere on their exam materials. Self-identification may result in disallowance of the exam and a failing grade for the course. Students may not discuss individual exam arrangements with faculty members.
My own opinion is that Obama is not as brilliant as he is often portrayed, but he is a very smart guy.
Besides the other items I have addressed, here are some other reasons why I think Obama can objectively be considered an intelligent individual:
1. Although he did not publish any papers in the Harvard Law Review, he was apparently involved in the editing of about 600 papers. Some of the authors have described the extensive editing-comments he gave them. None of these people, nor any of his classmates, nor any of his professors have come forward with an Emperor-has-no-clothes type story that Obama is really a moron.
2. The subsequent editor of the Law Review, who is a conservative, has said that she thinks Obama is extremely intelligent.
3. When the exams and answer keys from some of Obama's University of Chicago courses were published, they were not criticized for exhibiting poor legal scholarship. None of the people who took his courses have come forward to say that he is a moron.
4. The authors of this law school casebook thanked Obama for help in putting their book together. Obama was also thanked by a professor at HLS for his assistance in research for a paper. Part of the degree requirements at HLS is legal writing of a high standard.
5. Genes: Both of Obama's parents were Ph.D. candidates. Despite the many faults of his father, he must have been an unusual individual to get from Kenya to Harvard in the early 60's. (While I don't buy the alternative-father theories, note that the other proposed candidates are also intelligent.)
6. Obama has gone into numerous meetings with intelligent people, including his political opponents and foreign leaders and none of them has come out and called him a moron. In fact the opposite is true.
7. He figured out how to become the first black president in spite of a huge number of drawbacks that would have defeated other candidates.
He has surrounded himself with Marxists, socialists and those that generally hate America (Rev. Wright comes to mind).
It's not so clear that political beliefs are directly tied to intelligence.
He clearly has no sense of economics
Obama has a left-leaning sense of economics but he clearly is able to grasp the very complex nature of the current economic crisis.
and he isn’t even admitted in Illinois to practice law!
Obviously Obama was once admitted to the bar in Illinois. He let his membership lapse since he wasn't practicing as a lawyer.