I've never thought that GWB was a stupid person. It's literally impossible to become President in the modern era without possessing a high IQ. There's just too much information and calculation you have to stay on top of for months on end, and an insane amount of media scrutiny analyzing everything you say and do. It's very mentally demanding. A person of even above-average intelligence would flame out from the mental fatigue and stress. You need to be very bright to successfully run that gauntlet.
GWB's problem was that he placed too much trust and good faith in his advisers, most of whom were incompetent or corrupt. People who he thought were providing him objective analysis were actually pushing their own agendas. This was most obvious with Cheney, who is a complete piece of shit by all accounts and who basically spent 8 years running his own mini-presidency in GWB's shadow.
GWB's failings had nothing to do with intellect, but rather temperament. At root he's just a laid back guy. He doesn't want to deal with a bunch of bullshit, he just wants to analyze the facts and make a decision then go ride his bike or chill on his ranch. This is why he gave Cheney so much power and authority to handle shit he didn't want to deal with. Especially after 9/11, he felt like he couldn't afford to make a mistake that would result in another attack. So he basically went along with whatever Cheney and Rumsfeld wanted, since they were the experienced national security guys and he felt he could trust them to do the best thing for the country. Unfortunately, this trust was misplaced, since all those two chucklefucks wanted to do was exploit 9/11 as a pretext for invading Iraq, something they had been planning since the mid-late 90's with PNAC.
GWB's problem was that he placed too much trust and good faith in his advisers, most of whom were incompetent or corrupt. People who he thought were providing him objective analysis were actually pushing their own agendas. This was most obvious with Cheney, who is a complete piece of shit by all accounts and who basically spent 8 years running his own mini-presidency in GWB's shadow.
GWB's failings had nothing to do with intellect, but rather temperament. At root he's just a laid back guy. He doesn't want to deal with a bunch of bullshit, he just wants to analyze the facts and make a decision then go ride his bike or chill on his ranch. This is why he gave Cheney so much power and authority to handle shit he didn't want to deal with. Especially after 9/11, he felt like he couldn't afford to make a mistake that would result in another attack. So he basically went along with whatever Cheney and Rumsfeld wanted, since they were the experienced national security guys and he felt he could trust them to do the best thing for the country. Unfortunately, this trust was misplaced, since all those two chucklefucks wanted to do was exploit 9/11 as a pretext for invading Iraq, something they had been planning since the mid-late 90's with PNAC.
[size=8pt]"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”[/size] [size=7pt] - Romans 8:18[/size]