IT IS TO LAUGH

TONY SNOW


Recently, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was out doing some fundraising. He commented on a number of topics but one of his remarks made me spit out my cornflakes all over my monitor. (And before anyone continues reading, I suggest that if you do in fact have cornflakes or any other food substance in your mouth while reading this that you take the time to fully chew and swallow before continuing.)
On the subject of the intellectual acumen of Bush (from the NYT via Atrios): “He reminds me of one of those guys at the gym who plays about 40 chessboards at once.”

Anyone who has spent even the slightest amount of time following our bumbler-in-chief is well aware that Bush has never been known for his "intellectual acumen." In fact, I believe that the only time that "Bush" and "intellectual acumen" should appear in a sentence is when the verb "lacks" is smack dab in the middle. Stories range far and wide about how Bush seems to be without basic intellectual curiosity. And of course there's the fact that he will proudly proclaim what a great "C" student he was during his time at Yale. To make the claim that Bush is capable of handling multiple tasks, as a person capable of playing 40 chessboards must perform, stretches any and all bounds of credibility; one need look no further than his failures in foreign policy to see that he is incapable of juggling even one ball in the air, let alone three, or forty for that matter.

On the other hand, I think that we as Bush's opponents have often stumbled against him because of our collective impulse to assume that he is nothing more than a cat playing with a ball of yarn in the corner while Cheney and Rove do all the heavy lifting. He possesses some level of intelligence and insight that often goes unnoticed by those blinded by their disdain and hatred for the man who has done so much to damage this nation. That being said, I would never go so far as to make a statement like Snow did. 40 chessboards? No chance in hell. 40 tic-tac-toe games? That's probably more his speed.

QUICK UPDATE: As the lone commenter noted, I should point out that I don't know if Bush would win all 40 tic-tac-toe games, just that he could semi-competently participate in 40 games.