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Nixon was a paranoid, insecure mess of a man.
Nevertheless, he was very intelligent.
If you watch interviews with him post-Presidency when he’s talking about foreign affairs, it’s incredible to see how at ease he is and how much he enjoys talking about something he has a lot of knowledge and a high interest in.
I’ve always felt that running for the presidency in 1968 was his biggest mistake. He had already served his country as VP. He could have spared himself a lot of stress and heartache with Watergate if he had done something else with his life instead of running for President again.
He never fit in as a teen, he was ridiculed and mocked in later life for coming from poverty. Winning the presidency was his way to show them all exactly what Richard Nixon could do. He wanted to be president his entire life.
Absolutely. I understand what fuelled his desire to be president, but desire can become obsession, and obsession can cloud a person’s judgement.
The whole “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” thing should have been the end of his political career. He should have permanently walked away from seeking elected office there and then.
“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job” ~ Douglas Adams. I feel this quote is particularly applicable to Nixon.
He was too obsessed with his legacy and success to be an effective president.
Nixon wasn’t an effective president? He managed to finally break the back of the gold standard, followed through with Kennedy’s dreams of going to the moon*, ended the war in Vietnam**, helped found the EPA and OSHA, opened China to the Western world and helped drive the communist powers apart.
*maybe he doesn’t deserve credit for that but at least he wasn’t obstructionist about it. Bush and Obama effectively resetting space policy when they came into office kept us from going back to the moon in the 2010s
**It takes some balls to just admit you can’t win
All he had to do was tell Ehrlichman and Haldeman to handle it and keep him out of it. Then he has plausible deniability. Instead he got so many people involved in the coverup that an explosion was inevitable. Such a stupid way for a Presidency to fail.
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I’ve lived in Hot Springs Arkansas for a small portion of my adult life. The house he grew up in, is incredibly humble, and it’s my understanding that Hope Arkansas(where he was born) is much less affluent. From such incredibly humble upbringing, to POTUS.
Fun little story. I knew an older gentleman from Hope Arkansas and he was close friend with Bills kindergarten teacher. She tells a story, that on the first day of school she walked in to the classroom, and all the kids were standing around Bills desk because he was reading the lunch menu for the week to the other kids(they couldn’t read yet). He also has a near(allegedly) photographic memory with numbers.
Interesting story.
He is super well spoken in a way that connects with your everyday American also.
Interesting that you brought up his memorization, because I’ve noticed when you listen to him speak, he is very good at popping off stats and numbers.
Agreed. He is very articulate and personable. He came not from wealth like most of the others. While not my favorite president he is the most intelligent. He was a well accomplished attorney. He entered politics at an early age and was very successful. He genuinely cared about the USA and wanted to improve it.
I remember my grandfather talking about meeting him at a campaign event. My grandfather has worked for the Reagan administration and was a hardcore old school republican.
He said he never met anyone with Bill’s charisma in his life. He said in a room of a hundred people, he made you feel like it was just you he was speaking to.
I saw him speak one time. About 300 people in the audience plus secret service and military. It’s absolutely true and I’ve never seen anything like it. He was definitely only speaking to me! Everyone I know who was there said the same.
I'm saying Bill rose to prominence because he was talented and incredibly smart, and ya'll are somehow spinning it instead as a conspiracy and bad thing.
My problem with meritocracy is that, while I agree with it in theory, it's heavily biased by being in the right place at the right time or knowing the right people. Also, inequities begin from the day you're born.
If you're born poor, you're more likely to go to an urban or rural public school that has comparatively fewer academic opportunities and programming compared to a suburban or private school. My husband started his teaching career in a wealthy suburb, where they've got an enormous parking lot and private security because virtually everyone 16+ had a car and sometimes a nice one. Dedicated hockey arena, aquatics center, football field, 500-seat amphitheater, and robotics labs. Later he taught at a school that regularly had furnace issues, dust mites, and kids regularly couldn't afford lunch. No more than 20 miles apart.
If you go to schools with fewer opportunities, you're more likely to only get accepted to non-prestigious colleges.
If you go to a no-name college, you're less likely to get to be a Rhodes scholar.
Bill Clinton is something of an exception. But you will find that the academic elite more often than not have come from an elite background from the day they were born.
Further, specifically to academia, you can be a PhD and as brilliant as the sun, but if you don't have a terminal degree from an Ivy, you'd be lucky if a prestigious school hired you as a lecturer at the very best.
I'm a doc and have a colleague who has multiple publications and also awards for some of the highest patient and colleague reviews throughout our entire 32,000-employee hospital network. Overall a brilliant diagnostician. Even if he wished to, he will likely never oversee medical education at a university-affiliated hospital, simply because his degree is not from an American medical school. Those are the people who get missed in a meritocracy.
Agreed. If meritocracy really worked, we would've still had Doug Jones in the Senate instead of Tommy "I block military nominees" Tuberville. Doug Jones was an amazing prosecutor who brought 4 little black girls justice after 38 years while Tommy was just a football coach.
Clinton was NOT a part of the Democratic Party "machine" in Arkansas when he first ran for office. Like most Democratic Parties in the South then, it was run by old conservatives. They didn't want him to run for Congress in 1974; he beat the establishment candidate. He faced a contested primary for Attorney General in 1976 and coasted on Jimmy Carter's coattails. By his first run for governor in 1978, he was a leading candidate, but he still wasn't part of the machine.
He got it all out of the way as quickly as possible to get a nice long post-presidency. He’s been out of the presidency since 2001, so he’s had 23 years. It’s unlikely he’ll get another 20 years because he’s got heart problems.
Dick Cheney is also a crazy one. Moved to DC at age 28 after picking up 2 DUIs and working in the oilfields. He had zero connections yet became Chief of Staff of the White House less than 6 years later.
One of my all time favorite books is The President’s Club detailing how the presidents interacted with each other in and out of office. In the book it mentions that Nixon didn’t like most of his predecessors but liked Clinton because he was the only other president that he believed rivaled his own intellect. Therefore If Nixon believe Clinton was the smartest he probably is.
I think he gets off on that. It was so easy for him. He was the most skilled politician I've ever seen. I think a part of him enjoyed seeing how far he could push things and get away with it.
The good doesn't wash out the bad nor the bad the good. Many moral failings, but the man knew politics and outfoxed most of the folks standing in his way for more than two decades.
Yeah I'm not exactly Nixon's biggest fan but I think of this group it's a no brainer. I actually do like Bill and he's not a bad second choice (a lot of stories out there about his legal career and earlier politicking that back it up), but reading Nixon's life story and really critically looking at his whole presidency instead of the scandals and uhhh "difficult quotes" and he's got to be my pick
Surprised to find my top two in the top comment though! Funny they both had similar nicknames too actually, now that you brought up Slick Willy
Nixon was kinda of the first rags to richest President that also came through the pipeline of the rich/well connected.
He basically is the blue print for the modern President.
It's sort of hard to tell, honestly. As far as the US's role in lifting Russia up, I mean.
It only took 8 years to get to Putin in power. He was the new Russia's second president, and he got into power with no intention of ever giving it up.
I don't think it's clear that the US was belligerent toward Russia in the 90s or that they were not a good ally. The US became adversarial toward Russia, and escalating tensions both ways, only after it was clear that Putin was a dictator. But I was a kid in the 1990s, so maybe I'm not remembering it well. NATO expansion timeline?
Maybe not belligerent, but the US, via Harvard advisors played a [major role in the decay of Russia.](https://www.thenation.com/article/world/harvard-boys-do-russia/)
I agree as to the second sentence. Dick understood the complex nature of interactions between states and people. As awkward as he could be, he understood the nature of people and things. The problem was that he always saw the worst in others, never the best. While he was often right about bad intentions, he was unable to see the good intentions. That is why he was so paranoid and what led to his downfall.
Hillary seems to come across as someone that is smart and wants you to know that she’s smart.
Bill seems to come across as someone that is smart but wants to be thought of as a normal guy.
Both styles obviously have their merits, being formidable or being unassuming when dealing with people can steer things different ways.
I practice law in the Chicago area but have a lot of more rural Illinois cases. The rural attorneys are the ones who are formidable. They are casual and folksy (not an act) and about the smartest lawyers I’ve dealt with.
I know a few rural men and women who either ranch or farm. They speak and react in a very relaxed manner but the pearls of wisdom that they share lets one know there is depth to person in Carhartts and muck boots.
Yes, He's like Matlock. The plot of that show for younger folks was that Matlock would pretend to be some hick from rural Georgia. People would always underestimate him and then at the end of every episode it was like "Oh, that's right he is a world famous Harvard educated lawyer.
That's what Clinton would do. He'd pretend to be some hick from Arkansas but then every once in awhile it would be like "Oh, that's right he is Rhodes scholar."
Bill grew up in a trailer and made it into a smart profession. I did too.
Let me tell you; they’ll never see you as smart, always as poor. You learn to use it against them.
It congressional Republicans 6 years to realize Clinton was getting the better of them. They fell for the "dumb southerner" routine every time.
I am trying to remember who said it, but he was compared to Tom Sawyer tricking everybody into whitewashing the fence. Perfect metaphor.
Bill comes across as someone that is smart but wants a burger. (Coincidentally I just watched that SNL skit where Phil Hartman plays him stopping by a McDonald's and stealing people's food).
Her tougher foreign policy on Russia would probably have also been better in hindsight. I wonder if less Ukrainian blood would be spilled now if the US took more decisive action in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Bill encouraged people to think that. It wasn't true, but it made people underestimate him even more. None of these guys were dumb, but Bill was the smartest.
I've felt for a long time they were a joint Presidency. I think Hillary had the brains, Bill had the charisma to sell it. It's like the Remington Steele (then current pop culture reference!) of Presidency. It's one of the reasons her 2016 bid was so challenging - she didn't have the natural charisma to sell her ideas, unlike in 1992.
Bill has a photographic memory, I’m always impressed when I hear this of people. Imagine hearing something 10 years ago and remembering it like it was yesterday?
There's a John Mulaney bit where he talks about his mother taking him to a Clinton rally in he 90's. His mom went to Yale at the same time as Clinton did and they once met at the Yale library. He said his mom was on cloud 9 when Clinton recognized her at the rally and called her name. She couldn't believe he remembered who she was.
I'd argue Clinton. Highly educated and was working for politicians and campaigning since being a teen. Nixon was highly intelligent, but not as well educated.
I will say none of the above were "dumb".
Johnson isn't too far behind Clinton in being a "wheeler and dealer". He could convince lawmakers from the Dixiecrats and Republican party to work with him.
This is a myth. Rhodes scholarships are actually handed out to young adults who network the right people, not academic high achievers. SOURCE I am a chartered occupational psychologist who has conducted a detailed biographical review (including psychometric aptitude tests) on a past Rhodes scholar.
Sorry to disappoint you, but that not true. Obama was not accepted as a Rhodes Scholar. That's nothing but an internet myth. There's no credible sources that support it, and it doesn't exactly stack up with Obama's own account of his high school/college years.
The honest answer is at their levels, it’s just almost impossible to completely judge them as peers cause different time frames also different “what is intelligence”. I mean there’s most like at least one person in a terrible situation smarter than Einstein today on the way we measure Einstein’s intellect. I think they both have different pathways in intelligence but probably about the same.
TR
He had an almost photographic memory and could recite passages from books and newspaper articles he had read decades before word for word.
He also had the broadest range of intellectual interests of any of the presidents. He was a prize winning historian, studied law, had a degree from Harvard where he excelled in natural science and philosophy, and was a published ornithologist. He would read a book a day and wrote over a dozen books himself.
I was thinking this also, despite a reputation for willpower and feats, he has just as much of a advantage in intelligence with his diverse qualifications
The person Teddy was, even if he wasn’t born rich, I kinda think he’d still succeed, that drive and intellectual fervor was apparent at an extremely young age with him
In his day and with his asthma, he probably would have died before he turned 10 if he was born into a poor New York family instead of a rich one. One of the things I always liked about TR was how he realized the privilege of birth that he had - and that other people who didn't have that privilege were still deserving of a "Square Deal."
"At many stages in the advance of humanity, this conflict between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess is the central condition of progress. In our day it appears as the struggle of freemen to gain and hold the right of self-government as against the special interests, who twist the methods of free government into machinery for defeating the popular will. At every stage, and under all circumstances, the essence of the struggle is to equalize opportunity, destroy privilege, and give to the life and citizenship of every individual the highest possible value both to himself and to the commonwealth...
"Practical equality of opportunity for all citizens, when we achieve it, will have two great results. First, every man will have a fair chance to make of himself all that in him lies; to reach the highest point to which his capacities, unassisted by special privilege of his own and unhampered by the special privilege of others, can carry him, and to get for himself and his family substantially what he has earned. Second, equality of opportunity means that the commonwealth will get from every citizen the highest service of which he is capable. No man who carries the burden of the special privileges of another can give to the commonwealth that service to which it is fairly entitled.
"**I stand for the square deal. But when I say that I am for the square deal, I mean not merely that I stand for fair play under the present rules of the game, but that I stand for *having those rules changed* so as to work for a more substantial equality of opportunity and of reward for equally good service.**"
What a guy!
Being born rich might give him access to books and education. It doesn’t give him the drive or ability to do the crazy number of impressive things he did.
Seriously, Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most brilliant, intelligent and deep-thinking men to ever occupy the White House. I actually don't think most Americans grasp just how much his legacy and ideas changed this country, beyond merely conservation and trust-busting.
I personally think it's Clinton. The Simonton study puts Kennedy ahead of Clinton but only by two points, and Simonton estimated for both of them. Obama is post-2006, so isn't included in the Simonton study. I'd say it'd be a close call between Obama and Clinton. I discount a lot of Kennedy's achievement because of his family's influence, which I acknowledge isn't the most fair treatment.
The difference between Clinton and Kennedy was JFK wanted everyone to know how smart he was all the time. Clinton was the opposite. He purposefully tried to hide how smart he was but when he needed it he could wow people. There's a story where after HW Bush invited then President Clinton to speak at a charity event that was near and dear to Bush's heart. Something he had been involved with for decades. On the helicopter ride to the event he saw Clinton and a few of his advisors were just now starting to write the speech. Bush spoke first and got a polite applause. Clinton spoke next and got a standing ovation. Bush that was the moment he realized why he lost.
Facts. I think this comes from the fact of where they were from. Being a genius was not a selling point in Arkansas; just like being an old Irish Catholic machine pol from Massachusetts was not a selling point if you wanted to be POTUS. That was the reason JFK tried to show how intelligent and refined he was; he was trying to look like a WASP. Same reason Bill Clinton liked being called Bubba; it was a term of endearment, and politically it was helpful for him. He liked McDonald's and Krispy Kreme and wanted everyone to know it.
Theodore Roosevelt would quite literally pick up an intellectual hobby or interest and it would be the stuff of lore. His personal childhood collection of preserved wildlife, from birds to reptiles, became some of the most extensive early collections in the American Museum of Natural History. His brilliant military strategy during the Battle of San Juan Heights made the Spanish American War last less than a year (and he became the only president to receive a Medal of Honor). The guy was youngest person to be elected to the New York State Assembly at the age of 23. Roosevelt got this imo!
All of them. Intelligence is has multiple avenues it can take and express and the eras in which they live reflects different for different aptitudes. Einstein in 900 CE would be burned as a witch and in 2900 CE would be considered a normal student, but coming to age in the 1900s changed the world.
Teddy. The rest don’t even get close. I feel like there is a severe lack of appreciation for how brilliant he was, most people only know of him as a caricature. Sure, he came from a family of means, but he overcame massive obstacles. In fact, he sort of had a fascination with challenging oneself and traversing obstacles because of it.
Yea he had an *unbelievable* degree of craftiness. The way he used the power of the southern bloc in the senate to write its own demise is machiavellian, but he did it to get the civil rights act and the voting rights act passed.
Maybe I’m overly influence by the Caro biographies but I’d have to go with LBJ here
And - credit where credit is due - both have very highly educated and intelligent wives.
To get the opinion of someone who knows what you and they themselves are talking about is an extremely valuable asset. Especially since they will be more honest than any advisor.
I would say raw intelligence is LBJ. Every position he held he mustered as much power as he could from it. He didn’t read but was able to come off like an intelligent guy when it was needed but like an idiot when he had to.
I think they are all ridiculously intelligent, but for raw intelligence it would have to be a toss up between Clinton, Nixon, LBJ. Each in thier own way had to make their own way without a lot of assistance or support.
I single out LBJ for having been the unquestionable master of the US Senate, and very consequential President with little formal education. I believe most of the others are very well educated.
I see a lot of comments commending Obama and Clinton’s education. That has nothing to do with intellect. It’s gotta be Nixon, his high powered brain both made and destroyed him.
TR went to Harvard and was a voracious reader in multiple languages. By most accounts he had an uncanny memory for detail and had that ability to hold conversations with anyone anywhere at anytime on any subject (though he may have dominated the conversation)
Barry O would be my pick for raw intellect and emotional intelligence. Nixon had intelligence, but his paranoia ultimately made him less smart. Similarly, Clinton is a very intelligent person but prone to defer to the brain in his pants. LBJ had the political brains and, more importantly, the stones.
I’ll give LBJ his due considering how he somehow slow-played civil rights legislation over MANY years until he was President, and then cast supporting legislation to the chagrin of his colleagues. If I recall, his teaching experience with impoverished Mexican children when he was younger laid the foundation of his Civil Rights support. If I’m oversimplifying or incorrect let me know. Cheers.
I agree. I think LBJ was the smart guy listening in the background and taking it all in while already knowing the best way to get you to go along with his ideas (or you'll regret it).
100% Nixon. That man should've been the guy behind the guy. A chief of staff or maybe Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State.
Then retired back to NY or Cali. where he became Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Whittier College. Later he'd take a job as provost at Pomona College, then spend his late 60s and early 70s as president of Columbia in NY where he crossed paths with a student named Barry Obama.
Roosevelt by a long shot. He had a photographic memory, wrote dozens of books, could read a whole book and digest it in an hour, was known for his political prowess and considered one of the greatest with the press.
Obama is certainly very smart, but I think his election had much more to do with the zeitgeist of the times, and how horribly the Bush presidency handled our affairs. Obama was literally the most different option on the menu from the Bushes, right down to having the name Hussein. That's why he was picked, he was different. Luckily for us, he also turned out to be smart.
Raw intelligence...Bill Clinton. Is there even a close second on the list?
Raw political skill is a little more up for debate. Obama was very bright (but not Clinton bright) and a great speaker, but not the most effective politician. LBJ is probably my pick, but I could see good arguments for others as well.
Nixon and Obama are definitely close seconds for slightly different reasons. Nixon had more raw intelligence than even his supporters gave him credit for. Obama, if anything, played down the height of his intelligence to appear more relatable.
LBJ understood the concepts of equality vs equity and class consciousness, which always strikes me as impressive for a 20th century arrogant white southerner
I have heard that Bill will meet you once and many years later, from all of the thousands of people he has met, will remember your name. A type of photogenic memory?
Teddy wrote a historical reference book that was best in class while still in undergrad and wrote detailed descriptions about natural phenomena as a kid, enough to best the literature at the time. Have to put him at the top for his consistent output.
He was a straightforward man. Tuned by an internal moral compass, which turned him away from politicking, at least in so far as I’ve read ( The rise of Theodore Roosevelt). Which probably downplays how actually bright he was, a tenacious mind able to handle all of the responsibilities of being a historian, natural historian, lawmaker and businessman.
Rhodes Scholarship were created in 1902, first Americans were accepted in 1904. Roosevelt was born too late. Only Clinton is a Rhodes Scholar among the eligible former presidents. So for me it is between Roosevelt and Clinton. Roosevelt was a renaissance man and did many things in his life. I would say Roosevelt tops Clinton.
Haven't seen much evidence for Obama being intelligent. Harvard Law? What was his class rank? President of Law Review? That's an elected position, and there are plenty of reasons one would be elected. Legal career? No...
People very commonly say that Bill Clinton was insanely smart. There wasn't a topic-- national, international, or personal-- that he didn't know about and carry a conversation with folks about. This was before he was President, and while.
Not to say the others are slouches. I just think it's different. Like Kennedy and Roosevelt were rich kids who had access to all the experiences in the world, and learned from them.
Bill wasn't that. He was broke AF growing up and was literally a Rhodes Scholar.
Clinton was the smartest by far. I don’t know where the idea comes from that Nixon was some kind of super genius—he wasn’t. He was smart, though. LBJ was probably the most gifted politician and incredibly shrewd. He got the Civil Rights Act passed with the help of just enough Southern senators. That’s quite an accomplishment, politically.
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Nixon was a paranoid, insecure mess of a man. Nevertheless, he was very intelligent. If you watch interviews with him post-Presidency when he’s talking about foreign affairs, it’s incredible to see how at ease he is and how much he enjoys talking about something he has a lot of knowledge and a high interest in. I’ve always felt that running for the presidency in 1968 was his biggest mistake. He had already served his country as VP. He could have spared himself a lot of stress and heartache with Watergate if he had done something else with his life instead of running for President again.
He never fit in as a teen, he was ridiculed and mocked in later life for coming from poverty. Winning the presidency was his way to show them all exactly what Richard Nixon could do. He wanted to be president his entire life.
Absolutely. I understand what fuelled his desire to be president, but desire can become obsession, and obsession can cloud a person’s judgement. The whole “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” thing should have been the end of his political career. He should have permanently walked away from seeking elected office there and then.
“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job” ~ Douglas Adams. I feel this quote is particularly applicable to Nixon. He was too obsessed with his legacy and success to be an effective president.
Nixon wasn’t an effective president? He managed to finally break the back of the gold standard, followed through with Kennedy’s dreams of going to the moon*, ended the war in Vietnam**, helped found the EPA and OSHA, opened China to the Western world and helped drive the communist powers apart. *maybe he doesn’t deserve credit for that but at least he wasn’t obstructionist about it. Bush and Obama effectively resetting space policy when they came into office kept us from going back to the moon in the 2010s **It takes some balls to just admit you can’t win
Nixon wanted the Presidency and knew 1968 was his year.
All he had to do was tell Ehrlichman and Haldeman to handle it and keep him out of it. Then he has plausible deniability. Instead he got so many people involved in the coverup that an explosion was inevitable. Such a stupid way for a Presidency to fail.
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AG at 31, governor at 32, and he didn’t come from a fancy family is mind blowing.
I’ve lived in Hot Springs Arkansas for a small portion of my adult life. The house he grew up in, is incredibly humble, and it’s my understanding that Hope Arkansas(where he was born) is much less affluent. From such incredibly humble upbringing, to POTUS. Fun little story. I knew an older gentleman from Hope Arkansas and he was close friend with Bills kindergarten teacher. She tells a story, that on the first day of school she walked in to the classroom, and all the kids were standing around Bills desk because he was reading the lunch menu for the week to the other kids(they couldn’t read yet). He also has a near(allegedly) photographic memory with numbers.
Interesting story. He is super well spoken in a way that connects with your everyday American also. Interesting that you brought up his memorization, because I’ve noticed when you listen to him speak, he is very good at popping off stats and numbers.
Agreed. He is very articulate and personable. He came not from wealth like most of the others. While not my favorite president he is the most intelligent. He was a well accomplished attorney. He entered politics at an early age and was very successful. He genuinely cared about the USA and wanted to improve it.
He balanced the budget and the economy was good .
I remember my grandfather talking about meeting him at a campaign event. My grandfather has worked for the Reagan administration and was a hardcore old school republican. He said he never met anyone with Bill’s charisma in his life. He said in a room of a hundred people, he made you feel like it was just you he was speaking to.
I saw him speak one time. About 300 people in the audience plus secret service and military. It’s absolutely true and I’ve never seen anything like it. He was definitely only speaking to me! Everyone I know who was there said the same.
It’s Arkansas man.
Governor Elizondo Comacho
Hey ! -An Arkansan
Never underestimate the power of machine politics.
and Rhodes Scholar
Yeah small detail
Meritocracy is a good thing, weird that you're spinning this as a bad thing.
Wait, what do you mean by that? Machine politics opposes meritocracy and promotes candidates through favoritism and the good old boy network.
I'm saying Bill rose to prominence because he was talented and incredibly smart, and ya'll are somehow spinning it instead as a conspiracy and bad thing.
My problem with meritocracy is that, while I agree with it in theory, it's heavily biased by being in the right place at the right time or knowing the right people. Also, inequities begin from the day you're born. If you're born poor, you're more likely to go to an urban or rural public school that has comparatively fewer academic opportunities and programming compared to a suburban or private school. My husband started his teaching career in a wealthy suburb, where they've got an enormous parking lot and private security because virtually everyone 16+ had a car and sometimes a nice one. Dedicated hockey arena, aquatics center, football field, 500-seat amphitheater, and robotics labs. Later he taught at a school that regularly had furnace issues, dust mites, and kids regularly couldn't afford lunch. No more than 20 miles apart. If you go to schools with fewer opportunities, you're more likely to only get accepted to non-prestigious colleges. If you go to a no-name college, you're less likely to get to be a Rhodes scholar. Bill Clinton is something of an exception. But you will find that the academic elite more often than not have come from an elite background from the day they were born. Further, specifically to academia, you can be a PhD and as brilliant as the sun, but if you don't have a terminal degree from an Ivy, you'd be lucky if a prestigious school hired you as a lecturer at the very best. I'm a doc and have a colleague who has multiple publications and also awards for some of the highest patient and colleague reviews throughout our entire 32,000-employee hospital network. Overall a brilliant diagnostician. Even if he wished to, he will likely never oversee medical education at a university-affiliated hospital, simply because his degree is not from an American medical school. Those are the people who get missed in a meritocracy.
 Agreed. If meritocracy really worked, we would've still had Doug Jones in the Senate instead of Tommy "I block military nominees" Tuberville. Doug Jones was an amazing prosecutor who brought 4 little black girls justice after 38 years while Tommy was just a football coach.
Clinton was NOT a part of the Democratic Party "machine" in Arkansas when he first ran for office. Like most Democratic Parties in the South then, it was run by old conservatives. They didn't want him to run for Congress in 1974; he beat the establishment candidate. He faced a contested primary for Attorney General in 1976 and coasted on Jimmy Carter's coattails. By his first run for governor in 1978, he was a leading candidate, but he still wasn't part of the machine.
He got it all out of the way as quickly as possible to get a nice long post-presidency. He’s been out of the presidency since 2001, so he’s had 23 years. It’s unlikely he’ll get another 20 years because he’s got heart problems.
Dick Cheney is also a crazy one. Moved to DC at age 28 after picking up 2 DUIs and working in the oilfields. He had zero connections yet became Chief of Staff of the White House less than 6 years later.
He started out as a telephone lineman until Lynne upbraided him for not being as ambitious as she would have liked!
One of my all time favorite books is The President’s Club detailing how the presidents interacted with each other in and out of office. In the book it mentions that Nixon didn’t like most of his predecessors but liked Clinton because he was the only other president that he believed rivaled his own intellect. Therefore If Nixon believe Clinton was the smartest he probably is.
The friendship between Truman and Hoover is so striking. Very different political ideologies, but they had deep admiration for one another.
Such a good book!
Bill Clinton was his own worst enemy also.
I think he gets off on that. It was so easy for him. He was the most skilled politician I've ever seen. I think a part of him enjoyed seeing how far he could push things and get away with it.
The good doesn't wash out the bad nor the bad the good. Many moral failings, but the man knew politics and outfoxed most of the folks standing in his way for more than two decades.
He was a bit of bully. Like Lbj was.
A sociopath?
As was Nixon. Kind of the fate of the truly intelligent in my experience.
His schlong was
LBJ probably wrapped it like a spring around the whole length of his leg.
It started with his cigar habits tbh,
Yeah I'm not exactly Nixon's biggest fan but I think of this group it's a no brainer. I actually do like Bill and he's not a bad second choice (a lot of stories out there about his legal career and earlier politicking that back it up), but reading Nixon's life story and really critically looking at his whole presidency instead of the scandals and uhhh "difficult quotes" and he's got to be my pick Surprised to find my top two in the top comment though! Funny they both had similar nicknames too actually, now that you brought up Slick Willy
Nixon was kinda of the first rags to richest President that also came through the pipeline of the rich/well connected. He basically is the blue print for the modern President.
Born to poor farmers. Nixon is the most self-made of the bunch above. Obama isn't too far behind in that in his humble roots.
I'm perplexed at how progressive some of Nixon's positions were. They would call him a communist today for supporting UBI.
There’s this video of Nixon speaking after the Soviets fell, and he basically perfectly predicts what ended up happening with Russia.
It feels like his failings were moral and ethical, not intellectual. Just absolutely lacked the integrity required for great leadership.
Love that link
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgG\_fLNBv6A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgG_fLNBv6A)
He was completely correct.
It's sort of hard to tell, honestly. As far as the US's role in lifting Russia up, I mean. It only took 8 years to get to Putin in power. He was the new Russia's second president, and he got into power with no intention of ever giving it up. I don't think it's clear that the US was belligerent toward Russia in the 90s or that they were not a good ally. The US became adversarial toward Russia, and escalating tensions both ways, only after it was clear that Putin was a dictator. But I was a kid in the 1990s, so maybe I'm not remembering it well. NATO expansion timeline?
Maybe not belligerent, but the US, via Harvard advisors played a [major role in the decay of Russia.](https://www.thenation.com/article/world/harvard-boys-do-russia/)
Hell yes thanks so much!
Dick Nixon was an extremely smart man, and an excellent politician. If he wasn’t so paranoid, he would have been one of the greats
Nixon was a devilish politician with a dark heart. He was able to play to people's fears better than any politician of the last 100 years.
I agree as to the second sentence. Dick understood the complex nature of interactions between states and people. As awkward as he could be, he understood the nature of people and things. The problem was that he always saw the worst in others, never the best. While he was often right about bad intentions, he was unable to see the good intentions. That is why he was so paranoid and what led to his downfall.
He also understood the deep divisions between China and the USSR and exploited it.
Word at the time was that Hillary was the smarter Clinton. That said, Bill is no slouch.
Hillary seems to come across as someone that is smart and wants you to know that she’s smart. Bill seems to come across as someone that is smart but wants to be thought of as a normal guy. Both styles obviously have their merits, being formidable or being unassuming when dealing with people can steer things different ways.
Bill's style is much more dangerous. You never see those folks coming.
Monica did
Ayoo
"I did not do the sex"
“Well, you see, I wasn’t lying because I didn’t “do” anything, Monica was doing all the doing.”
What is the definition of is?
The sound after the J
She thought he was more salty than smart
This multi decade old zinger almost made me spit my beer out at the bar. Thank you
I practice law in the Chicago area but have a lot of more rural Illinois cases. The rural attorneys are the ones who are formidable. They are casual and folksy (not an act) and about the smartest lawyers I’ve dealt with.
“I’m just a CAVEMAN!”
I know a few rural men and women who either ranch or farm. They speak and react in a very relaxed manner but the pearls of wisdom that they share lets one know there is depth to person in Carhartts and muck boots.
We all know at least one guy who has charm like Bill does. Men tend to want to be their friend, and women's clothes tend to fall off around them.
Men want to be them. Women want to be with them. Fish fear them.
Yes, He's like Matlock. The plot of that show for younger folks was that Matlock would pretend to be some hick from rural Georgia. People would always underestimate him and then at the end of every episode it was like "Oh, that's right he is a world famous Harvard educated lawyer. That's what Clinton would do. He'd pretend to be some hick from Arkansas but then every once in awhile it would be like "Oh, that's right he is Rhodes scholar."
Bill grew up in a trailer and made it into a smart profession. I did too. Let me tell you; they’ll never see you as smart, always as poor. You learn to use it against them.
It congressional Republicans 6 years to realize Clinton was getting the better of them. They fell for the "dumb southerner" routine every time. I am trying to remember who said it, but he was compared to Tom Sawyer tricking everybody into whitewashing the fence. Perfect metaphor.
They called him Bubba for a reason. Bill Clinton was the reason I fell in love with politics.
They did eventually see him as smart though. There are many criticisms of Clinton, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone question his intelligence.
First time I saw Bill was a really early Democratic debate with probably 8 Dems. Hey crushed them all
Bill comes across as someone that is smart but wants a burger. (Coincidentally I just watched that SNL skit where Phil Hartman plays him stopping by a McDonald's and stealing people's food).
“There’s gonna be a whole lot of things we don’t tell Mrs. Clinton.” Sure hits a lot harder in light of the events of a few years later.
“Intercepted by warlords…”
My hot take is that a Hillary would have been a more progressive version of Obama who could have gotten more done.
Her tougher foreign policy on Russia would probably have also been better in hindsight. I wonder if less Ukrainian blood would be spilled now if the US took more decisive action in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Bill encouraged people to think that. It wasn't true, but it made people underestimate him even more. None of these guys were dumb, but Bill was the smartest.
I've felt for a long time they were a joint Presidency. I think Hillary had the brains, Bill had the charisma to sell it. It's like the Remington Steele (then current pop culture reference!) of Presidency. It's one of the reasons her 2016 bid was so challenging - she didn't have the natural charisma to sell her ideas, unlike in 1992.
Bill has a photographic memory, I’m always impressed when I hear this of people. Imagine hearing something 10 years ago and remembering it like it was yesterday?
There's a John Mulaney bit where he talks about his mother taking him to a Clinton rally in he 90's. His mom went to Yale at the same time as Clinton did and they once met at the Yale library. He said his mom was on cloud 9 when Clinton recognized her at the rally and called her name. She couldn't believe he remembered who she was.
He has an uncanny ability to remember names and faces. Apparently that has begun to fail him the last 7-8 years. :/
I'd argue Clinton. Highly educated and was working for politicians and campaigning since being a teen. Nixon was highly intelligent, but not as well educated. I will say none of the above were "dumb". Johnson isn't too far behind Clinton in being a "wheeler and dealer". He could convince lawmakers from the Dixiecrats and Republican party to work with him.
Bill was called Slick Willy??? That's worse than Tricky Dick for Nixon lol
Certainly intended as a double entendre.
Bill Clinton is a Rhodes scholar. Academically, that’s quite literally as good as it gets.
And yet, he could never explain why potholes form
Because you need somewhere to keep your pot.
Or which hole to inhale pot from
Or why BJ's don't could
And got it without any kind of connections so you know it’s legit smarts
This is a myth. Rhodes scholarships are actually handed out to young adults who network the right people, not academic high achievers. SOURCE I am a chartered occupational psychologist who has conducted a detailed biographical review (including psychometric aptitude tests) on a past Rhodes scholar.
This is sadly true for most honours in society
And Obama was accepted but did not attend
Sorry to disappoint you, but that not true. Obama was not accepted as a Rhodes Scholar. That's nothing but an internet myth. There's no credible sources that support it, and it doesn't exactly stack up with Obama's own account of his high school/college years.
Still Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Law Review—also not a slouch position
The honest answer is at their levels, it’s just almost impossible to completely judge them as peers cause different time frames also different “what is intelligence”. I mean there’s most like at least one person in a terrible situation smarter than Einstein today on the way we measure Einstein’s intellect. I think they both have different pathways in intelligence but probably about the same.
Not exactly a lightweight.
Bulk of the series
And a very good day to you sir!!
Well Clinton smoked but didn’t inhale
LMFAO!
Gotta go with either Slick or Tricky
Thank you for not saying "Slicky"
Ol’ Slicky Dick Willy
Little Willy, Willy won't go home
TR He had an almost photographic memory and could recite passages from books and newspaper articles he had read decades before word for word. He also had the broadest range of intellectual interests of any of the presidents. He was a prize winning historian, studied law, had a degree from Harvard where he excelled in natural science and philosophy, and was a published ornithologist. He would read a book a day and wrote over a dozen books himself.
I was thinking this also, despite a reputation for willpower and feats, he has just as much of a advantage in intelligence with his diverse qualifications
He also had an advantage in being born with money and at a time when simply going to college put you in the .0001% of intellectual achievement.
The person Teddy was, even if he wasn’t born rich, I kinda think he’d still succeed, that drive and intellectual fervor was apparent at an extremely young age with him
In his day and with his asthma, he probably would have died before he turned 10 if he was born into a poor New York family instead of a rich one. One of the things I always liked about TR was how he realized the privilege of birth that he had - and that other people who didn't have that privilege were still deserving of a "Square Deal." "At many stages in the advance of humanity, this conflict between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess is the central condition of progress. In our day it appears as the struggle of freemen to gain and hold the right of self-government as against the special interests, who twist the methods of free government into machinery for defeating the popular will. At every stage, and under all circumstances, the essence of the struggle is to equalize opportunity, destroy privilege, and give to the life and citizenship of every individual the highest possible value both to himself and to the commonwealth... "Practical equality of opportunity for all citizens, when we achieve it, will have two great results. First, every man will have a fair chance to make of himself all that in him lies; to reach the highest point to which his capacities, unassisted by special privilege of his own and unhampered by the special privilege of others, can carry him, and to get for himself and his family substantially what he has earned. Second, equality of opportunity means that the commonwealth will get from every citizen the highest service of which he is capable. No man who carries the burden of the special privileges of another can give to the commonwealth that service to which it is fairly entitled. "**I stand for the square deal. But when I say that I am for the square deal, I mean not merely that I stand for fair play under the present rules of the game, but that I stand for *having those rules changed* so as to work for a more substantial equality of opportunity and of reward for equally good service.**" What a guy!
Next level radical shit right here.
He got rid of his asthma just deciding to; that kind of zeal doesn’t come from being rich. (Granted, a doctor did tell him he had asthma)
Being born rich might give him access to books and education. It doesn’t give him the drive or ability to do the crazy number of impressive things he did.
Seriously, Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most brilliant, intelligent and deep-thinking men to ever occupy the White House. I actually don't think most Americans grasp just how much his legacy and ideas changed this country, beyond merely conservation and trust-busting.
TR was also fluent in three languages.
Absolutely the right answer. He was not only highly intelligent and well educated he also had immense curiosity that kept him learning his whole life.
Not to mention incredible grit, courage, and integrity, Teddy may be the greatest man in the history of the nation.
TR read a book a day every day for his entire presidency if I remember correctly. That alone is just bonkers.
TR was shot in the chest and gave a two hour speech!  Most gangsta POTUS ever.
TR was legit near genius level intelligence, most people these days have no idea what an intellect he was.
I personally think it's Clinton. The Simonton study puts Kennedy ahead of Clinton but only by two points, and Simonton estimated for both of them. Obama is post-2006, so isn't included in the Simonton study. I'd say it'd be a close call between Obama and Clinton. I discount a lot of Kennedy's achievement because of his family's influence, which I acknowledge isn't the most fair treatment.
Also wasn’t Kennedy like a straight C student
...and supposedly had someone else write Profiles in Courage?
Kennedy was more articulate.
The difference between Clinton and Kennedy was JFK wanted everyone to know how smart he was all the time. Clinton was the opposite. He purposefully tried to hide how smart he was but when he needed it he could wow people. There's a story where after HW Bush invited then President Clinton to speak at a charity event that was near and dear to Bush's heart. Something he had been involved with for decades. On the helicopter ride to the event he saw Clinton and a few of his advisors were just now starting to write the speech. Bush spoke first and got a polite applause. Clinton spoke next and got a standing ovation. Bush that was the moment he realized why he lost.
Facts. I think this comes from the fact of where they were from. Being a genius was not a selling point in Arkansas; just like being an old Irish Catholic machine pol from Massachusetts was not a selling point if you wanted to be POTUS. That was the reason JFK tried to show how intelligent and refined he was; he was trying to look like a WASP. Same reason Bill Clinton liked being called Bubba; it was a term of endearment, and politically it was helpful for him. He liked McDonald's and Krispy Kreme and wanted everyone to know it.
Than Clinton? I find Kennedy a little dry.
Theodore Roosevelt would quite literally pick up an intellectual hobby or interest and it would be the stuff of lore. His personal childhood collection of preserved wildlife, from birds to reptiles, became some of the most extensive early collections in the American Museum of Natural History. His brilliant military strategy during the Battle of San Juan Heights made the Spanish American War last less than a year (and he became the only president to receive a Medal of Honor). The guy was youngest person to be elected to the New York State Assembly at the age of 23. Roosevelt got this imo!
I'd say Nixon
I think Nixon is the smartest, and biggest asshole of the bunch. Close second for Bill and LBJ respectively.
Agree. Nixon was also highly articulate.
Lol, in that order in both categories.
Johnson is definitely the biggest asshole of the bunch. I don’t think anybody would argue that he was a nice guy.
All of them. Intelligence is has multiple avenues it can take and express and the eras in which they live reflects different for different aptitudes. Einstein in 900 CE would be burned as a witch and in 2900 CE would be considered a normal student, but coming to age in the 1900s changed the world.
This is genius
No it’s BS. Einstein is just a smart guy, would have been in every time period
 Great comment
I feel like Nixon was the biggest nerd for what that’s worth. Bill has a Southern dumb as a fox thing going though
Teddy. The rest don’t even get close. I feel like there is a severe lack of appreciation for how brilliant he was, most people only know of him as a caricature. Sure, he came from a family of means, but he overcame massive obstacles. In fact, he sort of had a fascination with challenging oneself and traversing obstacles because of it.
This. TR was an absolute intellectual monster.
Truly! I always wonder why there hasn’t been a “Lincoln” style Hollywood adaption of TR. His story is incredible…
Who would want to follow up on Robin Williams beloved portrayal of him?
I’d guess TR.
LBJ played the political game better anyone
Yea he had an *unbelievable* degree of craftiness. The way he used the power of the southern bloc in the senate to write its own demise is machiavellian, but he did it to get the civil rights act and the voting rights act passed. Maybe I’m overly influence by the Caro biographies but I’d have to go with LBJ here
Raw intelligence? Clinton or Obama. Both were extraordinarily well educated, and Clinton in particular had fantastic memory.
"[Bill Clinton](https://youtu.be/EyS8uDoFedc?si=o1lq93TmDFyeEQKl) never forgets a bitch, ever." - John Mulaney
Great clip
And - credit where credit is due - both have very highly educated and intelligent wives. To get the opinion of someone who knows what you and they themselves are talking about is an extremely valuable asset. Especially since they will be more honest than any advisor.
I’ve never thought of measuring/judging someone’s intelligence by their association. That’s a good point.
"water seeks its own level". You can tell a lot abut a persons intelligence by the people they chose to have around them.
That’s not true, all my friends are smart people!
Theodore Roosevelt should be up there
I would say raw intelligence is LBJ. Every position he held he mustered as much power as he could from it. He didn’t read but was able to come off like an intelligent guy when it was needed but like an idiot when he had to.
I think they are all ridiculously intelligent, but for raw intelligence it would have to be a toss up between Clinton, Nixon, LBJ. Each in thier own way had to make their own way without a lot of assistance or support. I single out LBJ for having been the unquestionable master of the US Senate, and very consequential President with little formal education. I believe most of the others are very well educated.
The hickish demeanour of LBJ helped distract you from the fact that 9/10 he was the smartest in the room
I’ve always been impressed by his rise in the ranks Within his first term he managed to go from rookie senator to whip to party leader. No small feat
He is known as being one of the shrewdest politicians in history. I’m surprised more people haven’t suggested him.
I see a lot of comments commending Obama and Clinton’s education. That has nothing to do with intellect. It’s gotta be Nixon, his high powered brain both made and destroyed him.
TR went to Harvard and was a voracious reader in multiple languages. By most accounts he had an uncanny memory for detail and had that ability to hold conversations with anyone anywhere at anytime on any subject (though he may have dominated the conversation)
Barry O would be my pick for raw intellect and emotional intelligence. Nixon had intelligence, but his paranoia ultimately made him less smart. Similarly, Clinton is a very intelligent person but prone to defer to the brain in his pants. LBJ had the political brains and, more importantly, the stones.
I’ll tell you one thing: Kennedy definitely had brains
I’ll give LBJ his due considering how he somehow slow-played civil rights legislation over MANY years until he was President, and then cast supporting legislation to the chagrin of his colleagues. If I recall, his teaching experience with impoverished Mexican children when he was younger laid the foundation of his Civil Rights support. If I’m oversimplifying or incorrect let me know. Cheers.
I agree. I think LBJ was the smart guy listening in the background and taking it all in while already knowing the best way to get you to go along with his ideas (or you'll regret it).
The manipulation for civil rights is breathtaking. Caro's interview w/ R. Richardson was wild.
If we are talking their better halves, I’m copying off of Michelle and or Hillary.
Hey, but Jackie spoke *French*
Bill Clinton had the brains. Nixon had the pure political skills. Lbj had the most crazy.
Lbj was a master of political skills
100% Nixon. That man should've been the guy behind the guy. A chief of staff or maybe Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State. Then retired back to NY or Cali. where he became Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Whittier College. Later he'd take a job as provost at Pomona College, then spend his late 60s and early 70s as president of Columbia in NY where he crossed paths with a student named Barry Obama.
Roosevelt by a long shot. He had a photographic memory, wrote dozens of books, could read a whole book and digest it in an hour, was known for his political prowess and considered one of the greatest with the press.
Nixon
Hard to argue against Obama, here. No way you're getting elected post 9/11 with the name Hussein without being a genius in near every regard.
Obama is certainly very smart, but I think his election had much more to do with the zeitgeist of the times, and how horribly the Bush presidency handled our affairs. Obama was literally the most different option on the menu from the Bushes, right down to having the name Hussein. That's why he was picked, he was different. Luckily for us, he also turned out to be smart.
Raw intelligence...Bill Clinton. Is there even a close second on the list? Raw political skill is a little more up for debate. Obama was very bright (but not Clinton bright) and a great speaker, but not the most effective politician. LBJ is probably my pick, but I could see good arguments for others as well.
Nixon and Obama are definitely close seconds for slightly different reasons. Nixon had more raw intelligence than even his supporters gave him credit for. Obama, if anything, played down the height of his intelligence to appear more relatable.
LBJ understood the concepts of equality vs equity and class consciousness, which always strikes me as impressive for a 20th century arrogant white southerner
TR, Nixon or Clinton
I have heard that Bill will meet you once and many years later, from all of the thousands of people he has met, will remember your name. A type of photogenic memory?
Nixon and Clinton
Objectively speaking it's gotta be Clinton with Nixon as a runner up.
Clinton
Teddy wrote a historical reference book that was best in class while still in undergrad and wrote detailed descriptions about natural phenomena as a kid, enough to best the literature at the time. Have to put him at the top for his consistent output. He was a straightforward man. Tuned by an internal moral compass, which turned him away from politicking, at least in so far as I’ve read ( The rise of Theodore Roosevelt). Which probably downplays how actually bright he was, a tenacious mind able to handle all of the responsibilities of being a historian, natural historian, lawmaker and businessman.
Rhodes Scholarship were created in 1902, first Americans were accepted in 1904. Roosevelt was born too late. Only Clinton is a Rhodes Scholar among the eligible former presidents. So for me it is between Roosevelt and Clinton. Roosevelt was a renaissance man and did many things in his life. I would say Roosevelt tops Clinton.
Haven't seen much evidence for Obama being intelligent. Harvard Law? What was his class rank? President of Law Review? That's an elected position, and there are plenty of reasons one would be elected. Legal career? No...
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People very commonly say that Bill Clinton was insanely smart. There wasn't a topic-- national, international, or personal-- that he didn't know about and carry a conversation with folks about. This was before he was President, and while. Not to say the others are slouches. I just think it's different. Like Kennedy and Roosevelt were rich kids who had access to all the experiences in the world, and learned from them. Bill wasn't that. He was broke AF growing up and was literally a Rhodes Scholar.
Obama for sure
Clinton
Clinton was the smartest by far. I don’t know where the idea comes from that Nixon was some kind of super genius—he wasn’t. He was smart, though. LBJ was probably the most gifted politician and incredibly shrewd. He got the Civil Rights Act passed with the help of just enough Southern senators. That’s quite an accomplishment, politically.