Why do sucessive American presidents appear so unintelligent and have a problem articulating?

Question

America is great, but the leaders of such a nation should at least be smart!!! Its a strange one.....

Answer 1

they are front men for the people who really run the country

Answer 2

Seems confined to Republicans, Bush senior and junior + Reagan! Could be something to do with the people that back them and want to manipulate them. Can't have someone who is bright as President, they may have their own original ideas! The real problem is the American people who elect them. Surely they have the intelligence to see through these idiots, but then again, perhaps not. Another problem, in my limited view admittedly, is the insular nature of the USA. They, the nation/people/government, would appear to prefer retreating back in on themselves rather than confront and address world wide issues until those issues come up and bite them on the ar** by which time it is too late. Finally, they, the US, as a result of this insular attitude, produce very few true political statesman; men who can see the wider picture of events, their origins, causes and the potential outcomes of any actions taken by the US to address these issues. I'm off to do a politics degree now. Ta ta.

Answer 3

The President is a normal human being and as such is subject to error just like the rest of us. The situation and stress that he faces daily is unreal in terms of having to solve difficult and complex situations. I suspect that just like many of us who have listened to our friends' advice over the years and found out later that they were wrong, he experiences the same type of thing. The major difference is that he is under close public scrutiny and if he makes one inappropriate move, the unfriendly and biased media is there to magnify it. The men are far from unintelligent as evidenced by their educational diplomas, but no amount of education can give a man/woman what amounts to as common sense in relating to people. A general sampling of the American population will testify to the truth of that statement. Don't we all know people who are smart but have very little common sense?

Answer 4

I can't say that I necessarily agree with you. Yes, I agree that our current President GW Bush does not convey himself in the most articulate manner, however looking back over the last 50 years, most of our presidents have been quite intelligent, if not always a glowing example of success.

Pres. Clinton was a Rhodes scholar and graduated with honors from Georgetown University

Pres G.H.W. Bush graduated from Yale and went on to a lengthy and successful business and political career

Pres. Carter was a nuclear physicist and took honors from the naval academy

Pres Nixon, published several extremely well written books on political theory

President Kennedy, graduate of Harvard published several books including profiles in courage (and had the good sense to marry Jackie).

Although I don't believe that all of these men were successful in their political agendas or even do I necessarily agree with their politics. To say that they were unintelligent is an unfair statement

Answer 5

Lately it seems the presidents are coming from the South and in the South they have a heavy accent. While speech is not an indication of intelligent. Look at all the men and woman from other countries that come to the US who are very intelligent but have not mastered the English language the are not stupid. Besides most have speech writers maybe we should be looking into their choices in this matter.

Answer 6

Language is the most powerful tool in an American politician's tool box. It is utilized to persuade the people, who are the ultimate authority according to the Constitution, to continue to support the status quo. If politicians do not appear as if they are addressing the issues accurately, and if their proposals are radically different than the solutions that are popularly disseminated, what is that telling us?

It tells us that our politicians ore obfuscating and cannot be forthcoming with the truth because they support a much different agenda and understand the nature of power in America much differently than the American people do.

In other words, our politicians appear dumb and unable to appropriately address the most pressing issues because they do not want to give legitimacy to popular concerns about government corruption, expansion and especially the ever-present establishment of the huge military-national security complex that so burdens our national budget and our national spirit.

Answer 7

I agree with you to a point, though keep in mind that while poor communication is bad, it's not necessarily an indicator of intelligence.

President Bush is a mediocre speaker, but the man has an MBA from Harvard.

Many other American presidents have been attorneys, so they're more accustomed to public speaking.

Answer 8

Well, the Bush family is a false facade for intelligence & Bill Clinton did come from the South...evn though he wasn't bad & we did have a good economy, he was & always will be a snake...
Regan wasn't bad, & he could speak well till he got altzheimers...

Answer 9

Because the TV dont lie and they are unintelligent and have problems articulating.

Answer 10

That is a very good point. In all fairness, they do have a lot of stuff on their minds. I myself am inarticulate at times and all I am responsible for is my family and myself! (Not an entire nation.) Surely they are smarter than they appear on t.v.. Television is not kind to those of us who don't have 'star appeal' sometimes.

Answer 11

American's choose the candidates through the hustings, these candidates then have live debates on TV, they then face the public vote.

If they are stupid do not vote for them.