NP? somebody has to say it

[calbert at hslboxmaster.com]

Michael Kenny sez:
> 
> The most important quality in a president is the ability to
> identify and solve problems.

Clearly Dubya's inability to articulate constitutes a "problem", which
he has failed to take steps to address........his blindness to the
obvious does not encourage me to give him GREATER 
responsibilities
which demand focus and perseverance...

  If you think a candidate
> identifies problems accurately and offers policies that
> will solve them, why would you care if he had trouble
> speaking sometimes? 

I have not granted Scrubby those qualities, nor have I seen them in
evidence.....So far much of what he has "done" has been 
"reactive"....


 There are a whole host of leaders who
> were not good speakers but were good leaders.  Thomas
> Jefferson comes to mind.

I'll have to take your word for it......I'm only 44......

 > 
> By the way, do you think Reagan was smart because he was
> the "Great Communicator"?

No, he was an accomplished script reader, a skill I am prepared to
believe he spent time cultivating.....

> > 
> > THere is also that gross disparity between Scrubby's
> > academic 
> > track, his alleged SAT verbal scores and the mush that
> > flows from 
> > his lips. 
> 
> There is a difference between taking a test in a quiet room
> and speaking to a room full of reporters who want to grill
> you.

Bush rarely, if EVER, exposes himself to the press in such a 
manner.....With good reason - his handlers don't trust him going "off
the cuff".......For the most part Scrubby is reading prepared lines
and wishing everyone a good day......and how much longer must this
remain a novelty to the guy? At what point does he begin to "pick up
on it"?

> > But if you are convinced that he is getting a bum rap,
> > maybe you 
> > can tell me how large is the set of Andover, Yale, and
> > HBS grads 
> > who cannot place Wales on a map, and who consider Chuck
> > Norris 
> > their favorite actor?
> 
> I don't see how either of these examples have to do with
> the intelligence a president needs to lead.  Should
> presidents be chosen on how much unimportant trivia they
> know about another country or who their favorite actor is?

I find this line of defense puzzling.....We are not talking about
Nowherestan, we are talking about a component of Great Britain. The
Bushs claim irish ancestry, Wales is RIGHT ACROSS THE WATER - are you
suggesting that there is nothing wrong with a guy of 55 who has the
geographical sense of my blind dog?

The Norris thing is frightening because it illustrates that IN SPITE
of enormous financial and academic advantages, Bush has to date
developed all the cultural discrimination of your basic bait shop
employee........Good people, but not presidential material, hence
their field of employment.....

If Scrubby put his wits to keeping the nightcrawlers moist - I 
wouldn't be concerned....


love,
cfa
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