4 ms·
Obviously, this is here and now because of Trump. My vantage point is Europe and I remember the Bush era, and I have seen this article before too. Bush came ac
by the-dude 6y ago
Obviously, this is here and now because of Trump.
My vantage point is Europe and I remember the Bush era, and I have seen this article before too. Bush came across as dumb, true ( I am looking for another word, something like not too smart ).
Northern Western media lean heavily towards US Democrats, I remember Reagan basically being described as the devil. In the same vain, Trump is painted as an imbecile.
The question I ask people who share these beliefs is : do you really think you can win the presidency of the US when you are below average? Of course not.
edit : dim might be the word indeed, borrowed from sibling comment.
- Blikkentrekker 6y ago> Northern Western media lean heavily towards US Democrats, I remember Reagan basically being described as the devil. In the same vain, Trump is painted as an imbecile. The U.S.A. Democrats are portrayed as a lesser evil at best, and even that is starting to become a thing of the past since they assimilated various political factions that do not categorically stand for the little man, but only for themselves whom they believe to be a little man, otherwise not caring for the others, that are often rife with the authoritarianism the U.S.A. Republicans were known for. > The question I ask people who share these beliefs is : do you really think you can win the presidency of the US when you are below average? Of course not. No, but I, and many on H.N. have probably never had a serious conversation with a man whose i.q. is south of 100. George W. Bush' i.q. was apparently estimated as 125 from SAT scores, so this thread reports — everyone I know who took an i.q. test is higher than that so 125 seems quite low, and to me insufficient to lead a country. I would gander that most statesmen indeed have an i.q. north of 125, so that would make G.W.B. lower than average in that world at least. Such vague words as “dumb” and “idiotic” are of course taken to be relative to the speaker's perceptions and milieu.
- phreeza 6y agoThey both clearly have to be (way) above average in some dimension, but I don't think it is what would traditionally be described as intelligent.
- d_silin 6y agoI listened to Trump's speeches and got the impression that he is at least smart enough not to believe his own bullshit.
- insickness 6y agoTrump is painted as both an imbecile and evil mastermind.
- the-dude 6y agoReagan was painted as a dim Western actor and an evil mastermind ( Star Wars ). He opened up talks with the USSR and called out Gorbatsjov tear down this wall, mister Gorbatsjov.
- GordonS 6y ago> Trump is painted as an imbecile I don't think the media is (only) to blame for that. When Trump speaks publicly, he isn't exactly eloquent - he goes back and forth, says the most bizarre things, and often rambles incoherently like a madman. > do you really think you can win the presidency of the US when you are below average Yes, you just need to be popular, and that is not a contest of raw intellect; it's about saying things that people want to hear, and having them hear you.
- rightbyte 6y agoBush looked abit slow and confused. Maybe inpart becouse journalists picked 'mean' photos. A classic trick is to transscribe in a way that sounds stupid but is accurate for the non-english audiance.
- bzb6 6y agoThat’s a very European media thing. Republican presidents are consistently portrayed as dumb and evil; Democrat presidents are consistently portrayed as smart, funny, and fair.
- croisillon 6y agoif you look at the Dems of the last 40 years, you might want to remember that n=2?
- bzb6 6y agoSorry, I also meant candidates.
- phreeza 6y agoMcCain was not portrayed as dumb if I recall correctly, he was cast as a kind of super-hawk, IIRC. In that election cycle, Sarah Palin took the role of the dumb republican.