Bush's seemingly low culture is very much an act, one he learned in 1978 after getting stomped at a West Texas congressional election by Kent Hance, who successfully used rural populist rhetoric against the relatively yuppie Bush.
I don't know the author of this article, http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/, but it echoes many of the things I've heard from others.
So did I. They were virtually all from ideological supporters. I don't remember an opponent ever saying it.
> The media looks for gaffes for ratings, but gaffs have no bearing on intelligence.
Most gaffes actually went unreported. He made them nearly constantly if he wasn't following a script. At some point his handlers cottoned on to this and after that you very rarely saw him speak in public without a script.
And yes, it demonstrates a very real lack of intelligence. Bush was not a smart man.
Listen, smart people don't go to Latin America and wonder if people there speak Latin. And smart people do NOT make so many terrible decisions.
Sharp as a tack - moved like a pro athlete.
It's probably human nature to think someone who doesn't agree with your politics is stupid.
If you follow anyone around with a microphone 24/7 you're going to come up with some pretty dumb stuff.