There are two things about me you might be surprised to hear. One of them is that my memory isn't all that great. For that reason, I'm sure you'll forgive me if what I'm about to address was discussed during the last Presidential campaign, or at any time before or since. When it occurred to me this morning while I showered, it seemed a completely original thought, though I'll grant that I might well have been distracted by the extreme physical expenditure required to lift my weighty wiener and wash its mighty underside.

Both George W. Bush and John Kerry went to Yale. When it came out that the much-maligned Bush's grade point average was in fact higher than East Coast intellectual Kerry's, Democrats were embarrassed and Republicans were delighted. Then the topic was promptly abandoned, as Democrats conceded defeat and Republicans wisely decided not to push a questionable hand. But now that the election is over and discussion of the topic will not be dismissed as partisan hackery, I'd like to revisit the issue.

Even Bush's most avid supporters couldn't possibly argue that the President's strength is his intellect. They often say that he's a regular guy -- a plainspoken people person whose greatest strength is the ability to surround himself with bright people and to use them well. And as ridiculous as that sounds to me personally, for the purposes of this discussion it's a point I'll concede. Bush isn't book smart -- he's people smart. If we also accept grade point average as a fair indicator of book smarts, well, the implication for John Kerry isn't a happy one.

Even less happy, and more interesting to me, is what the implication is for Yale. Were I a young scholar choosing between Harvard and Yale, or more to the point, a knowledge-loving parent of a young scholar choosing between Harvard and Yale, that the President widely thought to be the least book smart in recent memory attended Yale and did fairly well wouldn't necessarily sell me on the school. I mean, it's impressive that he became the President and everything, but that he's so dim doesn't say much for the education they're offering. And that he did better than John Kerry, a seemingly smarter guy, doesn't instill a lot of confidence in how they grade.

Analogcabin @ 2:38 PM
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