I remember a letter to the editor in the Financial Times circa 2002/3 in which an obscure British historian objected to the press characterisation of W as stupid. The writer had attended a function in London at which then Gov of Texas Bush was speaking. During the round of handshaking at the end of the conference W recognised the mans name and according to the writer congratulated him on his latest book and spoke inteligently with him about it. After that I never once doubted W’s intellect.
Bush was not dumb. Problem is, he tried to be too clever. He and Rove thought they could outfox the Democrats with compassionate conservatism. Co-opt the liberal agenda with No Child Left Behind and the new Medicare entitlement.
The slick strategery may have temporarily boosted Bush in the polls, but the long term result was a political and policy disaster. No Child is disdained by both left and right for its government intrusion and rigid top-down rules. The Bush Medicare scheme and other big spending are condemned by the Tea Party and conservative Republicans. As Bush lost support because of the declining economy, he also lost support among conservatives. His ratings went down the tubes.
That’s what you get for being too cute by half.