Bush IQ Update - Here's some first-hand testimony from Donald Luskin, who's a libertarian; thus, usually critical of the Bush administration.

I was invited to a meeting with President Bush, Treasury Secretary Snow, and National Economic Council chair Stephen Friedman -- along with eleven other economists (not including Paul Krugman), to discuss the prospects for Bush's tax-cuts. ...

I have to tell you that I was impressed -- especially by George W. Bush. I was expecting the self-conscious, sometimes painfully tongue-tied man I'd seen television. But the man I spent an hour across the table from was entirely different. In an informal give-and-take format, Bush spoke with passion, clarity, depth and insight. He was surprisingly real...

Obviously Bush plays better in person than on TV. Which, if you think on it, is probably true of 99% of the population. If you've ever spoken in front of a large audience, you probably sympathize; if not; don't knock; try.

Luskin ends with this: "I left this meeting with a strong sense of confidence that capitalism has in the White House right now about the best friend it's likely to get nowadays." Lusking sees this somewhat hopefully. I think it's sad.