IQ matters in those who advise the president; what matters in a president is honesty, compassion, integrity and an over whelming desire to serve his/her country. The president doesn't have to be a member of mensa to do an outstanding job - but he has to believe in what he stands for, if all others are going to beleive in him!

Perceptions of candidates' intelligence have long played a major role in American politics. George W. Bush is not quite so verbally incoherent as his father, but at times he sounds really stupid. His father did not sound stupid. He sounded like a man who tripped over his tongue. Much of the time, the son sounds as though his brain has gone AWOL. Bush's decision-making style is another reason why the historical guild will savage him. Historians pride themselves as being able to weigh the available evidence. What the historical guild holds most in contempt is failed power. They respect power, which is why Stalin and Mao have always received, if not free rides, then grudging respect for "making progressive things happen" and "pushing history forward." But Bush is not making progressive things happen. He is making progressive things backfire in full public view. He is revealing exactly where the liberals' version of history has always been moving: toward centralized power, reduced freedom (except sexually), increased government debt, and wars against foreign civilians that cannot be won in a world of price-competitive, low-tech weapons. George W. Bush is actively pushing the original Progressive agenda of 1898, but he is pushing it over a cliff.

he intelligence of our presidents has never been seriously scrutinized at any time in our history until recent years. There is a widespread perception that former President George W. Bushwas not qualified for the position he held That increasing awareness by the people has led to a study of the intellectual ability of all presidents for the past fifty years. The non-partisan researchers who evaluated the twelve presidents determined that the six Republican presidents for the past 50 years had an average IQ of 115.5, with President Nixon having the highest IQ, at 155. President G. W. Bush was rated the lowest of all the Republicans with an IQ of 91. The six Democrat presidents had IQs with an average of 156, with President Clinton having the highest IQ, at 182. President Lyndon B. Johnson was rated the lowest of all the Democrats with an IQ of 126. The margin of error is plus or minus five percent. This study validated the widespread feeling of people about President Bush was rated low because of his inability to command the English language, his lack of any scholarly achievements, and an absence of anything authored by him that would reflect an intellectual effort.

I am going to challenge the presidential IQ issue with a fact. People are not routinely tested for IQ and presidents I am sure are not different in that respect. IQ is meaningless in most cases except to measure potential which may or not be realized. High IQ societies are surprisingly ecclectic in the educational accomplishments of the members. My point is actually this..I do not think the IQ of presidents is a known and even if it were, it would not be public knowledge and rightfully so.

Somebody actually had to "report" this because it wasn't obvious? And, NOOOOOOOOO, in order to be appointed to president and to steal a presidential election, he's proven that IQ doesn't matter

Let's see your source. Or are you just a liberal making things up. I'll put money down that says that GW's IQ is higher then John Kerry's. Oh wait that's already been proven.

Intelligence? his daddy was CIA director he's no dummy

Doesn't seem to.

Actually that is a lie. http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/presiq.asp

I think intelligence in a leader is crucial. But let's not forget the integrity and human decency factor from now on people.

REPORT: This ABer obviously takes emails at face value and doesn't do even basic research. See http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/presiq.asp (It's false.) See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Presidential_IQ_hoax See http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bliq-bush.htm See http://www.joewein.net/hoax/hoax-bush-iq-lovenstein.htm See http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/politics/campaign/24points.html See http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg30805.html 'Nuff said. ;-)

Yes it does matter, or at least it should. his intellect falls below all other presidents of the past 110 years except Warren Harding, who was in the White House briefly in the 1920s and regarded as a failed president. George Walker Bush’s estimated IQ is about 20 points below that of his predecessor, Bill Clinton, a disparity that may have created a contrast effect that made any intellectual weaknesses all the more salient. Bush’s openness score of zero , compared with 82 for Clinton and John F Kennedy, 95 for Abraham Lincoln and 99.1 for Thomas Jefferson, placed him at the very bottom of US presidents.

Adlai Stevenson was supposed to be very intelligent but never got that final nod. I'd imagine if you were truly smart, you wouldn't want to be President, a thankless, high-pressure, underpaid burden of a job. Assuming you've got at least average intelligence, I'd say NO - ability to deal with all situations, flexibility, political astuteness, likeability, etc may be more important.

Apparently not,nor in those who put them in office.After all,Obama made it,didnt he.

This nonsense kills me. Being a terrible horrible old paleo I never voted for Bush and generally hate him like poison but come on kids, put down the chain email and back away from the outlandish unsourced statements contained therein. Here's a useful discussion of Bush's probable IQ, sourced with, you know, actual data from his SAT and military aptitude tests, and contrasted with John Kerry: http://www.vdare.com/Sailer/kerry_iq_lower.htm Bush was a fair little disaster, I don't disagree with that, but, looking at his SATs and military aptitude tests, he's actually a reasonably naturally intelligent man. No genius, but easily and well above average. Those tests have a much larger 'g' component than many people realize and a reasonably accurate IQ score can usually be derived from them.

And they say pot doesn't effect you!

we should expect smarter Presidents to serve us better may seem unlikely, though, judging from the historical record. While some intensely bright men such as Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln enjoyed much success in office, others experienced major difficulties, such as Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, James Madison, and John Adams Still, this doesn't mean that IQ is not desirable in a President, all else being equal. The problem is that all else is not equal. There are so few people at the far right end of the IQ bell curve that you can't always find amongst them all the other Presidential talents you need. In contrast, the rare individuals who make it to the White House from the fat part of the bell curve are far more gifted overall than is typical for their IQ. It's the same as with height in basketball. If you are 7'6" tall, NBA teams will throw money at you no matter how dorky you might be. But if you are only 6'0", the competition is so fierce that you need to be as quick as Allen Iverson. So, if IQ can indeed explain something like one sixth of job performance

His IQ would be irrelevant. Now his lack of ethics on the other hand...

Not only is this old, it's also incorrect. Concerning the second part of your question, a president only has to be smarter than the idiots that voted for him yo...

Whether or not this to be true, IQ is not nearly as important as: 1) Having the true interest of America first over other countries. 2) Common Sense judgement without checking political winds before making decisions. 3) The size of their Guts and the willingness to do what is right versus what might better their political position.