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I'm a Minnesota Girl, living in the south. I tell my friends I try not to talk and think like a Yankee, but sometimes I slip up!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Ironic




A report published by the Lovenstein Institute of Scranton, Pennsylvania , detailed its findings of a four month study of the intelligence quotient of President George W. Bush. Since 1973, the Lovenstein Institute has published its research to the educational community on each new president, which includes the famous "IQ" report among others.There have been twelve presidents over the past 50 years, from F.D. Roosevelt to G.W. Bush, who were rated based on scholarly achievements:1. Writings that they produced without aid of staff.2. Their ability to speak with clarity, and several other psychological factors, which were then scored using the Swanson/ Crain System of intelligence ranking.The study determined the following IQs of each president as accurate to within five percentage points.




In order by presidential term:


Franklin Delano Roosevelt [D] 142,


Harry S Truman [D] 132,


Dwight David Eisenhower [R] 122


John Fitzgerald Kennedy [D] 174,


Lyndon Baines Johnson [D] 126,


Richard Milhous Nixon [R] 155,


Gerald R. Ford [R] 121,


James Earle Carter [D] 175,


Ronald Wilson Reagan [R] 105


George Herbert Walker Bush [R] 98,


William Jefferson Clinton [D] 182,


George Walker Bush [R] 91




In order of IQ rating:


182 . . William Jefferson Clinton [D]


175 . . James Earle Carter [D]


174 . . John Fitzgerald Kennedy [D]


155 . . Richard Milhous Nixon [R]


147 . . Franklin Delano Roosevelt [D]


132 . . Harry S Truman [D]


126 . . Lyndon Baines Johnson [D]


122 . Dwight David Eisenhower [R]


121 . . Gerald R. Ford [R]


105 . . Ronald Wilson Reagan [R]


098 . . George Herbert Walker Bush [R]


091 . . George Walker Bush [R]




The six Republican presidents of the past 50 years had an average IQ of 115.5, with President Nixon having the highest at 155. President George W. Bush rated the lowest of all the Republicans with an IQ of 91.The six Democratic presidents of the past 50 years had an average IQ of 156, with President Clinton having the highest IQ, at 182. President Lyndon B. Johnson was rated the lowest of all the Democrats with an IQ of 126. No president other than Carter [D] has released his actual IQ (176). Note the institute measured him at 175.




Among comments made concerning the specific testing of President G.W. Bush, his low ratings are due to his apparently difficult command of the English language in public statements, his limited use of vocabulary [6,500 words for Bush versus an average of 11,000 words for other presidents], his lack of scholarly achievements other than a basic MBA, and an absence of any body of work which could be studied on an intellectual basis.The complete report documents the methods and procedures used to arrive at these ratings, including depth of sentence structure and voice stress confidence analysis."All the Presidents prior to George W. Bush had a least one book under their belt, and most had written several white papers during their education or early careers. Not so with President Bush," Dr. Lovenstein said. "He has no published works or writings, which made it more difficult to arrive at an assessment. We relied more heavily on transcripts of his unscripted public speaking."




The Lovenstein Institute of Scranton, Pennsylvania think tank includes high caliber historians, psychiatrists, sociologists, scientists in human behavior, and psychologists. Among their ranks are Dr. Werner R. Lovenstein, world-renowned sociologist, and Professor Patricia F.Dilliams, a world-respected psychiatrist



Hmm - The smartest president didn't know enough to keep his pants zipped and the dumbest one thinks he can run a war.

7 comments:

Kelly said...

Ha! Loved your comment!

I'll take common sense over intellect any day of the week. I've known overly bright people that had trouble functioning in the real world.

Of course it's nice if you can have a little of both.

Donna said...

You are obviously very confused! You seem to think that higher intelligence has something to do with a man's ability to think with the right head. Ahahahahaha!!

I don't know about you, but I've seen enough proof to accept as fact that one has nothing to do with the other.

Algernon said...

Douglas Hufstader wrote the book (literally) on the American people's conflicted feelings about intellectual presidents, a generation ago, and things haven't changed much. Some still say that Adlai Stevenson lost the presidency twice in part because he was perceived as "too intellectual." Intellectuals come off as condescending, effete, and out of touch with working class "values." This was George W. Bush's appeal in 2000 when he opposed Al Gore, a candidate who seemed to have higher qualifications and experience than the Governor from Texas.

Bob said...

Good point by Algernon. People don't like it when they think they are being talked down to. Interesting that Obama is taking flack right now for appearing a little on the elitist and arrogant side. I am no fan, but I have never thought he came across that way at all. Don't agree with his politics, but I find him pretty down-to-earth and likeable and I think we could be friends.

Pam said...

I wonder what John Edwards' IQ is....?

Ego: Off the charts

Common sense: sub zero

quid said...

John Edwards' ego, it seems, is surpassed by the numerical score of his libido.

He's loathed more than the run of the mill cheater, perhaps, because Elizabeth Edwards, more than any other candidate's wife, truly seems like an everyday heroine.

quid

Algernon said...

Interesting how, to some, Edwards's infidelity is more vile because of his wife (and, presumably, her struggle with cancer).

Reminds me of the infamous tale of Newt Gingrich serving his wife with divorce papers while she was in a hospital bed.

I wonder how many partisan Republicans knocking Edwards on this basis recall the right-wing icon's conduct?