How smart is Bush?

[lordtyranus]

Interesting read.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?St...=20040114-074349-3947r

Bush's 1206 is a better score than it may seem to younger people because the Educational Testing Service "recentered" (inflated) SAT scoring in the mid-'90s. Bush's score is the equivalent of a 1280 under today's dumbed-down scoring system.

http://www.yale.edu/oir/book_n...SAT_Scores_1975_99.pdf

As of 1999, the 10% SAT score range at yale was a 1270. Using this chart, Bush scored higher than at least 10% of Yale graduates today. Bush scored better than 92% of test takers today, and better than a substantial number of people in this forum. So if Bush got in solely because of his father, then the same is likely true for at least 10% of Yale undergraduates today.

Linda Gottfredson, co-director of the University of Delaware-Johns Hopkins Project for the Study of Intelligence and Society, told United Press International: "I recently converted Bush's SAT score to an IQ using the high school norms available for his age cohort. Educational Testing Service happened to have done a study of representative high school students within a year or so of when he took the test. I derived an IQ of 125, which is the 95th percentile." In other words, only one out of 20 people would score higher.

Kerry should release his SAT score. A quick google search yielded nothing.

Edit: He also has not released his yale transcripts apparently. Hmm, Mr. 4.0/1500 sure is hiding something, isn't he?

 

[Gravity]

He's smarter than the average Gore. Maybe smarter than the average Dem in general. Smart enough to surround himself with people much smarter than him, which is very smart.

 

[CycloWizard]

*cue some liberal coming in here to say how his daddy paid someone else to take the test for him*

Bush is smart, there's no denying it. Not everyone who is smart is a good public speaker, and not everyone who is a good public speaker is smart. I think that's where people get thrown for a loop.

 

[43st]

Phew... so he does have a plan for Iraq and the economy after all. I was beginning to worry. You guys know when our smart president will tell the rest of the country the plan?

 

[eigen]

Whats this got to do with a botched ill planned (illegal?) war,that is doing nothing to stop or prevent or even hold steady the level of terrorsim in the world. I am confused why this is even a topic of converstation.I dont care if he taught stephen hawking everthing he knows about quantum mechanics.

 

[CrazyApe]

1. How do you use cocaine?
a. Snort it
b. smoke it
c. inject it
d. all of the above

GW's answer: D Correct!

2. What's the best way to dodge a draft and Vietnam?
a. You're daddy has money
b. Don't take the mandatory physical evaluations, just skip them!
c. Show up for National Guard duty and then go AWOL for a year
d. all of the above

GW's answer: D Correct!

3. What's the best way to "shotgun" a beer?
a. Take it out to the ranch, set it on a fence, and take an assault rifle to it
b. Pop a hole in the bottom of the can, then pop the top, dude!!!
c. I'm too stoned to answer this question
d. All of the above

GW's answer: D Correct!


Wow! He IS smart!

 

[lordtyranus]

Originally posted by: CrazyApe
1. How do you use cocaine?
a. Snort it
b. smoke it
c. inject it
d. all of the above

GW's answer: D Correct!

2. What's the best way to dodge a draft and Vietnam?
a. You're daddy has money
b. Don't take the mandatory physical evaluations, just skip them!
c. Show up for National Guard duty and then go AWOL for a year
d. all of the above

GW's answer: D Correct!

3. What's the best way to "shotgun" a beer?
a. Take it out to the ranch, set it on a fence, and take an assault rifle to it
b. Pop a hole in the bottom of the can, then pop the top, dude!!!
c. I'm too stoned to answer this question
d. All of the above

GW's answer: D Correct!


Wow! He IS smart!

I guess we can file him in the 1270 or below category.

 

[marcello]

Wow, he did ok on the SAT, impressive. That is the end all for intelligence tests. Only highschoolers who just took the SAT believe it is an accurate representation of one's intelligence. Eigen made a great point

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: marcello
Wow, he did ok on the SAT, impressive. That is the end all for intelligence tests. Only highschoolers who just took the SAT believe it is an accurate representation of one's intelligence. Eigen made a great point

I believe this was probably posted as a response to the recent thread asking how Bush got into Harvard and Yale. I don't see anyone but strawmen saying anything about its influence on our current positions in Iraq and WoT.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: marcello
Wow, he did ok on the SAT, impressive. That is the end all for intelligence tests. Only highschoolers who just took the SAT believe it is an accurate representation of one's intelligence. Eigen made a great point

No he didn't, he made a completely non-related point. This topic seems to have been brought up in response to all the FUD that 'the Dub' is somehow stupid and there was no way he could have gotten into or passed any Univerisity, much less Harvard or Yale. Public speaking abilities aside, the man is rather intelligent, whether you like his policies or not.

There are plenty of other topics devoted to the war in Iraq - you 2 can go whine in them

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
*cue some liberal coming in here to say how his daddy paid someone else to take the test for him*

Bush is smart, there's no denying it. Not everyone who is smart is a good public speaker, and not everyone who is a good public speaker is smart. I think that's where people get thrown for a loop.

This is my issue with Bush. I don't think it's too much to ask of the PoTUS to be both smart and eloquent.

Of course, neither of the current major candidates meet both those criteria so we're pretty much screwed in that regard.

 

[kage69]

Kerry doesn't even come close to the level of stupidity Bush maintains. All politicians eventually will say something stupid, or become confused and take something out of context. Never have I seen any political figure that does it with such frequency and severity as does Dubya. It's really depressing (well, humiliating actually) that such a mental midget 'leads' (and I use that term quite loosely) the most powerful nation on the planet.

 

[Rob9874]

He got his Master's from Yale. I don't think a dummy can do that.

Didn't Gore flunk out of Theology School as well as Yale?

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
*cue some liberal coming in here to say how his daddy paid someone else to take the test for him*

Bush is smart, there's no denying it. Not everyone who is smart is a good public speaker, and not everyone who is a good public speaker is smart. I think that's where people get thrown for a loop.

This is my issue with Bush. I don't think it's too much to ask of the PoTUS to be both smart and eloquent.

Of course, neither of the current major candidates meet both those criteria so we're pretty much screwed in that regard.

My point was I think the American public equates brains with being eloquent. Tony Blair would likely beat anyone in a landslide, regardless of what platform he ran on, just because he's an awesome speaker. I agree that it's obviously desirable to have both qualities, but I'll take smart over eloquent any day.

 

[kage69]

He got his Master's from Yale. I don't think a dummy can do that.

Didn't he also get in with a C average? I don't think any average dummy can do that either.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
*cue some liberal coming in here to say how his daddy paid someone else to take the test for him*

Bush is smart, there's no denying it. Not everyone who is smart is a good public speaker, and not everyone who is a good public speaker is smart. I think that's where people get thrown for a loop.

This is my issue with Bush. I don't think it's too much to ask of the PoTUS to be both smart and eloquent.

Of course, neither of the current major candidates meet both those criteria so we're pretty much screwed in that regard.

I think the problem with that is that Clinton was 'both smart and eloquent,' and many people associated that with "crafty and shrewd." Bush won in 2K because of his "country-boy" image (however manufactured it may have been.) Gore just appeared a bit too pompous (however exaggerated it may have been) for most people. The country tends to shift back and forth on these things. "Sleasy, Used-car Salesman" and "Innocent Redneck Hick" may be irrelevant, extremist categories, but that's what a lot of people like - easy-to-fill categories.

Hell, that's the only reason I can think of that Jimmy Carter was ever elected. People seem to like polar opposites - and after Nixon and Ford, Carter was about as opposite as you could get.

Of course, this all occasionally backfires. Bush's well-manicured "innocent good-ol-boy" image may have served him well in 2000, but it also gives ammo to those who want to label him a "redneck moron" now.

 

[spaceman]

smart enough to become the most powerful man in the world.
laugh all you want.
at a whim, he could make just about any nation/group/person disappear.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
My point was I think the American public equates brains with being eloquent. Tony Blair would likely beat anyone in a landslide, regardless of what platform he ran on, just because he's an awesome speaker. I agree that it's obviously desirable to have both qualities, but I'll take smart over eloquent any day.

If I had to choose I'd take smart as well.

Still, it's like telling me that in my choice for Miss America I can either pick a pretty face or big boobs. Bzzzt...I demand both!

 

[dahunan]

His scores are BEFORE THE DRUNKEN STUPORS that killed many of his brain cells

 

[ForThePeople]

Originally posted by: lordtyranus

As of 1999, the 10% SAT score range at yale was a 1270. Using this chart, Bush scored higher than at least 10% of Yale graduates today. Bush scored better than 92% of test takers today, and better than a substantial number of people in this forum. So if Bush got in solely because of his father, then the same is likely true for at least 10% of Yale undergraduates today.

One does not imply the other. You are claiming that anybody with a 10th percentile SAT who attends Yale is there because of their father's influence - this is an unwarranted assumption. They could, for example, have been accepted on the basis of affirmative action, or a profound talent with a musical instrument, or to bring a unique viewpoint to the student body.

Whatever the case it has been admitted by Yale that W was a legacy admit and did not earn his place for any kind of academic merit.

I think the issue is not whether GW might have once been smart, you know, back when he was in his teens and took the SATs.

The real question is whether his brain survived the two decade drugs and alcohol binge. You are aware that this radically effect the brain, right, and that whatever test he took when he was 18 is not a measure of his contemporary intelligence?

The malapropisms that constantly spew from his mouth are actually consistent with the brain damage one would expect from 20 years of alcohol abuse. I am sure if he went in for a PET scan we would see the classical alcoholic damage pattern.

PET scan demonstrating pattern of alcoholic damage

 

[cmp1223]

We shouldn't have to justify our president's intellegence using an apptitude test from 30 years ago. It should be apparent in is speeches and in is actions. I think any president needs to be able to communicate with the american public and foreign leaders. Bush cant do that. BTW, any dummy can graduate from Yale with enough money and power. They WILL find a way to push him through the system, there is too much to loose if they dont.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: ncircle

at a whim, he could make just about any nation/group/person disappear.

Nice analogy of what to do with the power he is given

 

[cy7878]

Originally posted by: Rob9874
He got his Master's from Yale. I don't think a dummy can do that.

Didn't Gore flunk out of Theology School as well as Yale?

Bush got a Master's Degree from Yale? That is a new one.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: ForThePeople

I think the issue is not whether GW might have once been smart, you know, back when he was in his teens and took the SATs.

The real question is whether his brain survived the two decade drugs and alcohol binge. You are aware that this radically effect the brain, right, and that whatever test he took when he was 18 is not a measure of his contemporary intelligence?

The malapropisms that constantly spew from his mouth are actually consistent with the brain damage one would expect from 20 years of alcohol abuse. I am sure if he went in for a PET scan we would see the classical alcoholic damage pattern.

:roll: Have a , I guess. Maybe you can sit this one out while the "big people" talk, hmm? :laugh:

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: cy7878

Originally posted by: Rob9874
He got his Master's from Yale. I don't think a dummy can do that.

Didn't Gore flunk out of Theology School as well as Yale?

Bush got a Master's Degree from Yale? That is a new one.

Bachelors from Yale, Master's from Harvard. Sorry, I'm not a Bush expert. Nevermind then, a Master's from Harvard proves no intelligence.