Is Intelligence A Negative?
John McCain is a man of average intelligence. He graduated 494th out of a class of 499 at West Point. He basically got in based on his father’s pull. Still he slogged through. Barak Obama is a man of extraordinary intelligence. He excelled at some of the hardest schools in the country. So when McCain analyzes the countries problems he is going to come up with simple answers that the average american can understand easily. The sort of things that lend themselves to sound bytes and don’t require any effort on the part of the voter. When he talks about these things he is likely to sound passionate and decisive.
When Barak Obama analyzes the countries problems he will come up with much more nuanced and complex solutions. They will be harder to explain to average americans. They won’t fit in a sound byte or a 30 second commercial. When he talks about these things he is going to sound like an elitist.
In general, Obama will come up with better answers than McCain. They will deliver better economic results, better health care, more effective foreign policy, etc. But most people won’t quite understand why. McCain, like Bush, will be a disaster. But he will be the kind of disaster the average voter can relate to because he will do what seems right to them.
Now McCain won’t get everything wrong. He will be right on social issues. He has embraced the intellectually light-weight fundamentalist Christianity. I am not sure he has adopted the faith part but at least the moral code. Still this does give mostly right answers. Abortion is wrong. Marriage is for a man and a woman. As i have noticed before, McCain can’t defend these positions when challenged but he has taken them and might even continue to act on them once elected.
The sad part is these important moral truths have been lumped in with a bunch of inferior political policies. It makes it very easy to assume that the Democrats have the more well-thought-out position across the board. It fits in nicely with the “Christianity is for stupid people” myth that is out there. It makes it hard to convince people that on this issue the Republicans have stumbled into the right answer.
So has politics descended to the point where having intelligent positions works against you? All McCain has to do is prevent the debate from reaching any real intellectual depth. When Obama has to start by explaining why Paris Hilton is irrelevant then you wonder if people will pay attention long enough. In the end, he is likely to win mostly because people are ready to change parties. It will be closer than it should be just because he is black and McCain is a war hero. When we get closer to November those things will matter less and less.
Update: A good example of what I am talking about. This writer needs only once sentence to summarize McCain’s economic vision. He needs 8 pages to describe what Obama want to do. Guess which one is easier to fit on a bumper sticker?
Mcain’s military records contains a 1984 IQ test. His score, 133, puts him well, well above the average (100). He would be one of the most intelligent presidents in history. Btw, I can’t stand the guy. But he’s smart, can’t deny it.
Re: Obama, his standardized college tests like SAT, LSAT could be used pretty accurately to estimate his IQ. I think we can get a good idea by the fact that Obama keeps refusing to make his SAT and LSAT scores public (and he is a minority which makes it easy for him to get chosen based upon race, not merit) that he isn’t all that bright and that that his scores are probably far too low to justify his admission to Columbia or Harvard. Also, in college, Obama never showed any real intellectual work or accomplished much.
So if I were to guess, Obama is probably dumber than Mccain. He’s smart, far smarter than average, but that’s it.
Also, I disagree with your claim that intellience naturally complicates one’s assessment. This isn’t true. A high-IQ person can take the complexities and be smart enough to choose wisely among them, while the dumber guy merely has less info.
August 24th, 2008 at 11:12 pmI don’t like IQ tests at the best of times. I would not stack them against long term academic performance. I am even cynical enough to believe that someone whose father and grandfather are admirals might get some favorable bias from the navy testers. I know there were multiple tests done and only one result released.
and he is a minority which makes it easy for him to get chosen based upon race, not merit
So McCain benefiting from his father and father-in-law is OK but Obama getting break because of his race is not OK? Do you even have any evidence he would not have met the normal admission standards? He was the chair of the Harvard Law Review. I guess no matter what he accomplishes you ignore it because it MUST be affirmative action. Never mind that many of these things had never been done by a black man before. It must be easy for any black man to do them because Obama cannot possibly have talent.
August 25th, 2008 at 3:05 amI don’t like IQ tests at the best of times. I would not stack them against long term academic performance.
Then you don’t know much about the science of intelligence. IQ is a well demonstated measure of “g”, or general intelligence, while “academic performace” is so fuzzy it can’t even be easily defined. Each institution is different, each individual teacher, each field! This reality has been demonstrated over and over; just look up the literature.
I am even cynical enough to believe that someone whose father and grandfather are admirals might get some favorable bias from the navy testers.
I’m plenty cynical, I’m just not ignorant. IQ tests in the military are not given by people who care a whit who is getting the test - they are specialists who are pretty much separate from whom they are testing. The chances McCain had his IQ test “shifted” due to who he might be or his political connections is laughable to anyone who knows about this part of the military. Besides, who would have cared enough about an IQ test to put this political pressure on the testers and risk their career? Crazy stuff.
So McCain benefiting from his father and father-in-law is OK but Obama getting break because of his race is not OK?
I never said McCain benefiting from his relatives was “OK” or not. To imply I did is a lie.
I never said it was “OK” or not for Obama to benefit from his race. Again, for you to imply I did is a lie.
Finally, you say Do you even have any evidence he would not have met the normal admission standards? There is all sorts of evidence - he won’t release the only way for us to judge his intelligence objectively, his academic record is very weak at the schools he went to, he’s black and schools like Harvard lower academic standards for blacks. Any logical, non-biased person would have to have to assume he isn’t a academic monster.
He was the chair of the Harvard Law Review…Never mind that many of these things had never been done by a black man before.
Exactly. It was a coup for Harvard to get him as the chair for this reason.
It must be easy for any black man to do them because Obama cannot possibly have talent.
Again, you just love to libel people. Who ever said Obama “didn’t have talent”? You just can’t stop yourself from trying to twist people’s words.
I said, and I say again, based only on the evidence I have at hand, that Obama is probably dumber than McCain. But he’s smart, far smarter than average. Personally, I don’t like either of them, and could care less about their skin color or their connections. I’m merely a neutral observer of the facts at hand. I doubt you can say the same, considering how quick you are to twist my words.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:25 amThen you don’t know much about the science of intelligence. IQ is a well demonstated measure of “g”, or general intelligence, while “academic performace” is so fuzzy it can’t even be easily defined.
Acedemic performace will get you a job. IQ tests are just conversation pieces. They don’t mean much at all. Employers know that.
I never said McCain benefiting from his relatives was “OK” or not. To imply I did is a lie.
I never said it was “OK” or not for Obama to benefit from his race. Again, for you to imply I did is a lie.
Wow. You are sure quick to throw around big accusations. Everyone gets breaks on their way to the top. McCain has gotten more than Obama. Obama’s rise to the top was based mostly on talent. McCain’s was based mostly on family. He is a lot like George Bush that way.
There is all sorts of evidence - he won’t release the only way for us to judge his intelligence objectively
So your best evidence is a lack of evidence. You must love conspiracy theories. They often try and conclude a lot from the fact that something was not released.
his academic record is very weak at the schools he went to
Where? Are thes real records or just something you assume would be weak if it was released?
he’s black and schools like Harvard lower academic standards for blacks
But not every black who goes there has lower standards. Besides, they don’t lower their standards to nothing.
Any logical, non-biased person would have to have to assume he isn’t a academic monster
You have a strange mind. You can hardly do better academically that graduating from Harvard Law.
Exactly. It was a coup for Harvard to get him as the chair for this reason.
Do you write off the accomplishments of all blacks or just Obama? Nothing he does impresses you because people must have just handed him things. Whatever?
Again, you just love to libel people. Who ever said Obama “didn’t have talent”? You just can’t stop yourself from trying to twist people’s words.
Again you love to make the huge allegation. You snear at a man’s impressive resume and then complain people are twisting your words when they point out the silliness of what you said. It seems like a game you play a lot.
I’m merely a neutral observer of the facts at hand. I doubt you can say the same, considering how quick you are to twist my words.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:52 pmI guess declaring yourself to be neutral is another game you play. Whatever. I do like Obama and I do think he is a lot smarter than McCain. Even if they were the same age he would have a clear advantage. When you factor in the intellectual degradation that comes from old age then the gap is huge.