Understanding George Bush

I've heard before, and commented on the idea, that Bush is not as stupid as he would like us to believe. In terms of his IQ, I think it's probably true. But IQ is only one measure of intelligence, and, many argue, not a good one. This article (free registration required) describes how his intellectual laziness and messianic complex have led his advisers to strictly limit the information he hears, and to present it only in ways that support their policies, to prevent him from making a snap policy judgement based on his gut feelings about a person or a situation.

I've worked with and for people like this, and I can (sort of) sympathize with his advisers. You seriously can't get anything done if there is no consistent policy or guiding vision. Given the growing hegemony in the administration, however, I think they're starting to succeed in training him to think the way they want, which means that we're in even more trouble than we thought.