There was some discussion recently (not nearly as much as needed) whether McCain's policies are the same as these of George Bush. But is he as stupid? This article argues convincingly that yes, just like George Bush he lacks intellectual curiosity, his academic record is awful, and his approach to everything from morality to world problems is simplistic.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/18/cafferty.mccain/index.html
"John McCain graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. His father and grandfather were four star admirals in the Navy. Some have suggested that might have played a role in McCain being admitted. His academic record was awful. And it shows over and over again whenever McCain is called upon to think on his feet."
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9 comments:
The author of this CNN article excoriates McCain for, among other things, inadequately defining "rich". So if you're going to jump on other folks for being "stupid", in part because they can't adequately define the terms of debate, perhaps you should start by defining "stupid".
Or is that just a catch-all term for people you disagree with when you're too lazy to articulate your disagreements?
regardless of your stand / thoughts, that's a good point, ashley.
Always I see people buying into the media assult on intelligence ... Regan, Bush, now McCain. While the intelligence of Clinton and company is lauded.
At least McCain has shown the ability to survive without sacrifice of personal integrity or hiding his true beliefs ... and he does not base his beliefs on a poll.
I am not particularly fond of McCain ... and since you have decided that a Harvard advanced degree is evidence of stupidity and lack of mental effort on the part of Bush ...
I have questions for those of you that think Bush is so stupid ... apparently primarily because of Iraq. Have you ever read Osama bin Laden's fatwa against the U.S.
(his declaration of war in 1998)?
http://www.september11news.com/OsamaBinLaden.htm
Osama's reason: because we were interfering with Iraq and were in his homeland of Saudia Arabia. (Remember when Saddam massed his troops on the border of Arabia in 1990?)
If your intellectual rigor is so elevated answer me this ... how could the world have left Saudia Arabia and Southern Iraq without securing this region? (You probably forget that Saddam was actually paying $40,000 each to sucide bombers. It was even posted on Iraq's web page. Do you recall the thousands of gallons of anthrax recoverd by the U.N. in Iraq?)
Kuwait, Arabia, Iraq ---> we are talking about a huge percentage of the world's oil supply. Yes we need alternative energy sources ... but this oil means life to most of the worlds population ... not just us. We cannot currently exist without it ...
I live in Nebraska, and we put oil based fertilizer on the crops that feed the massive cities of the world.
Where would we be now if we had not gone into Iraq ... either under Bush I or Bush II? What would we be facing?
By the way ... I have two family members that have been serving since 2002.
Saying that someone is stupid does not make it so. Postulate a better outcome than the actions ordered by George W. Bush.
In a strange way it all comes back to Richard Nixon --- Iran (Shah) ... Iraq (Saddam) ... Israel ...
Wish I had more time to put this together coherently.
Ashley tate said: perhaps you should start by defining "stupid".
Stupid as I am I'll give it a try.
894 our of 899
How did I do? [rolleyes]
Anonymous:
"I live in Nebraska, and we put oil based fertilizer on the crops that feed the massive cities of the world.
Where would we be now if we had not gone into Iraq ... either under Bush I or Bush II? What would we be facing?"
W H A T are you saying???
Are you saying that it is perfectly fair to get into other people's homes and, simply, TAKE what you want??? WHATEVER THE COST???
Well, I suppose that you'd accept that what you do to others, would be done to you in turn.
So, I suppose also that you would not mind if I run into your farms and take you out your crops, oh and by the way we kill your wives, children, etc...
It is, at least, as equally "fair" as the things you are justifying here.
[Stupid as I am I'll give it a try.
894 our of 899
How did I do? [rolleyes]]
Not bad, Anonymous, but not very precise.
For 2007, 99% of Naval academy SAT scores were over 1000, and 1010 was at the 48th percentile. Assuming you believe McCain's academic performance to correlate perfectly with his intelligence and that Naval academy admissions standards are roughly equivalent between eras (1954-2007), you seem to be saying that anyone at or below the 50% percentile in stupid. Fair enough.
However, we have some strong evidence that McCain's class rank and intelligence are not correlated. Anecdotally, his performance suffered from clashes with superiors and a less than stellar work ethic. More importantly, post-POW psych evaluations estimated his IQ at 133 (http://isteve.blogspot.com/2008/04/mccains-reported-iq.html).
A final question must be answered to infer your opinion of McCain's intellect: Since you offered a single data point, we don't know whether you consider the 50th percentile the stupidity ceiling or mid-range. If it's a ceiling, then you don't consider McCain to be stupid; if it's mid-range you may or may not consider him stupid. Please clarify ASAP.
To Anonymous Nebraskan...
"At least McCain has shown the ability to survive without sacrifice of personal integrity or hiding his true beliefs ..."
Let's see.
Torture: McCain claims to be against it, but voted YES on a bill exempting CIA from torture prohibition and NO to bill prohibiting waterboarding as torture.
Oil drilling: was against, now for.
Campaign reform: was against corporate contributions, now campaign is run entirely by lobbyists.
Global warming: for environment, but against actually doing anything for it.
Finally, perhaps your definition of "personal integrity" includes leaving a wife suffering from serious injuries for a younger, wealthier woman. I am not a Republican - mine does not.
Bush with "advanced degree at Harvard"? Don't you know how he got there? And what his Harvard teachers (and fellow students) are saying about him?
Thousands of gallons of anthrax in Iraq - where did you find this? On FreeRepublic.com?
Saddam was not paying people attacking the US. He was paying the people attacking Israel - which runs world's longest and biggest concentration camp. I am sorry, but they deserve what they get (and actually far more than that), and protecting them should not be the US' business.
You need better outcome for 9/11? How about putting steel doors on the aircrafts so one could not enter the pilot's cabin? Much cheaper than the war, and the rest of the funds could be used to fix various problems that cause far, far more deaths than terrorism - from cancer to drunk driving (40000 death per year).
In other words, dear Nebraskan - remove your head from your ass and have all the natural fertilizer for your fields you need, while lower the country's demand for oil! Sorry for being rude, but while the people are dying, it is no time for civil discourse with your kind...
didn't mccain also crash three planes in vietnam? and weren't all three of those crashes due to pilot error, not to any sort of combat? let's see how well he "pilots" the nation. chew on it...
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