Set your political leanings aside along with party labels, and personal hangups with the person. Who is actually smart enough to be leader of the free world? We're not talking here about electibility, only who is smart enough to hold the office.

My list (not in any order):

Hillary Clinton
Joe Biden
Mitt Romney
Newt Gingrich
Rudy Giuliani
Duncan Hunter

On smarts, Newt is by far #1 on that group.

Fortunatly, there is no IQ test req1uirement for the presidency, or educational requirement either.

Jimmy carter was a nuclear engineer, very bright technically, but one of the 5 worst presidents ever.

Jefferson was probably our smartest president, and probably one of our top 5 presidents.


There is no correlation between "Intelligence" and being a good president.

When I say "smart enough", I'm referring to the ability to hold the office and deal with everything that comes at you in that position, not "nuclear engineer" smart, or smart in a specialized area.

You include Joe "Plugs" Biden?

That plagiarizing poophead?

That tend's to be the problem in a lot of things. People put to much emphamis on education and you wind up with "Book Smart yet Bone Stupid" people in charge of things!

I didn't say I like all of these people. I said I thought they were smart enough to be President.

Who of the recent crop isn't smart enough?

Bush
Gore
Kerry

All 3!
Ad a pinch of Newt and a bitch like Hillary and you round out the rest. Rudy isn't good either and with his adulterating past that will only hurt him.

Gore was of course easily smart enough. He may have suffered some of the "hands on" problems Jimmy Carter had, wanting to micromanage everything, not sure how he is about delegation. But I think Gore has the "vision thing" that others lack. Mock him all you want about being misquoted to say he "invented" the internet, but he truly did see the potential while a Senator and was one of the few to champion the then-called "information superhighway" while in Congress. He also got heavily involved in arms control during the Reagan Administration and probably has an intimate knowledge of the military and the capability it possesses. During the Clinton years, Gore was usually the most hawkish advisor Clinton had.

John Kerry is a very intelligent man, but I don't know what kind of manager or visionary he would be. Between him and Bush, though, there's really no decision, as was clear to me in 2004. And I'd much prefer Gore to Kerry.

Andrew

I think they are all smart enough to serve as President.

To actually BE a real President?

That's a character issue, and highly likely another thread.

Right now, the actual qualifications to be president are pretty low, native born , 35 years old, and not previously held the office for 2 terms.

Lets add a few.
1. Have served in the US military, and completed all the terms of enlistment.

2. College degree from an accredited university or college, with a minimum of 2.5 GPA.

3. receive at least a 105 on a standardized IQ test.

I guess that rules out the "Artful Dodger" Dick Cheney! He blew it on rule #1.

Rule one would eliminate President Bush, Sen Kerry and Gore as well as Hillary, Obama and pretty much all the announced candidates.

hillary, joe and newt are my choices in the smartness dept from that list.

I'd put Al Gore on top of any smartness or most qualified list.