I didn't say anything about geniuses, I'm talking about intellectuals, people who think about issues instead of screaming invective. Dubya may have an estimated IQ of 119, but he's by no means an intellectual. Being an intellectual isn't a matter of horsepower, but of quality of thought. Or just a willingness to think at all.
Al Gore is an intellectual. Even better, he's a writer, and that's a rare avocation among politicians. I know you'll never, ever, actually read anything Gore has written, which means that you're really not qualified to pass judgment. In fact, dare I say it, that makes you something of an anti-intellectual.
In further fact, our conversation is developing along stereotypical lines that illustrate the sorry state of American political discourse. Many Zoners have lamented the lack of intellectual substance in our discussions, and here's an example: I bring up Gore's book, in which he expresses the same concern about the larger American political arena; I speculate about the possibility of reforming American politics through honest intellectual debate between people like Gore and some apparently nonexistent Republican intellectual...and all you can think of to "contribute" is to insult the intelligence of a couple of Democrats.
You're part of the problem, Tom.
You do get partial credit for mumbling three names of potential Republican intellectuals on your way out the door. Gingrich is a good choice, Forbes maybe, though his intellect comes across as a little flabby; McClintock I don't know well enough to say, but you're probably right. I'd love to see a Gingrich-Gore debate; could be the 21st's Lincoln-Douglass. But we won't know unless we try.
And then the final irony: In your parting sentence, you seem to reveal that you actually agree with Gore:
A grasp of the principles that should drive politics doesn't help much when personality counts for so much more.
I guess extreme partisanship makes actually admitting you agree with Al Gore too much for you, eh? Too bad. America needs intellectual honesty far more than it needs more bitter partisanship.