Political Ethics

[ThatRobGuy]

Since the political forums seems to be closed for posting, I figured I would post this thread here since it does fall under the blanket political ethics.

Is intelligence the most important quality for a President to have? I say yes, but I know there are other opinions out there, and I would like to hear them.

If you feel that intelligence isn't the most important factor, do you at least feel that there should be an IQ test to make sure they meet a minimum requirement?

Also, I think there should be a polygraph questioning session to find out the candidate's former involvement with drugs and alcohol. Nothing out of the ordinary, just the same polygraph that every FBI agent has to take before they get there badge.

I think these preventative measures would be positive.

If we don't put these requirements in place, we could end up with an elected official whose a former drug addict with a 93 IQ....Hypothetically speaking of course...

 

[Mskedi]

Even though I score high on IQ tests, I don't think that they should be relied on to judge a person's intelligence.

I do think a President should be educated, of course, and should have experience in other governmental positions such as governor or senator, etc.

And I think ethics and intelligence are equally important. I don't want an evil mastermind as my president, nor do I want a well-meaning fool.

 

[Voegelin]

Stalin read Homer in Greek. Theodore Kaczynski is in prison for murdering three people. I've never known an exceptionally bright person who valued intelligence above all. They know how dangerous it is (as well as how it is an accident of birth and doesn't ensure happiness). As far as political movements are concerned, those who tout the intelligence of their leaders and claim their opposition is "stupid" are often dangerous as well. We saw many of what the Nikita Krushchev admitted in his famous "secret speech" blowing apart Stalinism were "cults of the individual" in the 20th century. Those individuals were almost worshiped not for their morality but for their supposed intelligence.

 

[Bianca87]

147 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
132 Harry Truman (D)
122 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)
174 John F. Kennedy (D)
126 Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
155 Richard M. Nixon (R)
121 Gerald Ford (R)
175 James E. Carter (D)
105 Ronald Reagan (R)
098 George HW Bush (R)
182 William J. Clinton (D)
091 George W. Bush (R)

well...do your math....
my ten yo little sister has an higher score then the Bushes and Regan. LOL

 

[ThatRobGuy]

well...do your math....
my ten yo little sister has an higher score then the Bushes and Regan. LOL

The median IQ in the USA is 100..(as sad as that might be)

I think the President should at least be a few notches above average...much less below average.

 

[TheGMan]

The median IQ in the USA is 100..(as sad as that might be)

Isn't IQ is defined so that 100 is the median?

 

[Ryal Kane]

Isn't IQ is defined so that 100 is the median?

Yes. Of course the tests aren't a great indicator of IQ.

Where did those IQ tests come from anyway?

In terms of ethics, a leader should be fairly intellegent but doesn't need to be a genius. A leader will always need advisors on things.
And as Voeglin pointed out, intellegence is no guarantee of a good leader. But it's no guarantee of a bad leader either. I don't think an IQ test for office would be a good idea.

Leadership is a difficult equation to measure. They need to be flexible but also strong, tough but compassionate and so on. The only thing you can really use as a litmus is their level of success in past leadership.

 

[Pepperoni]

. . . we could end up with an elected official whose a former drug addict with a 93 IQ....Hypothetically speaking of course...

Yeah. But even a president with a (supposedly) high IQ wasn't smart enough to dodge impeachment, was he?

 

[Mling]

Yeah. But even a president with a (supposedly) high IQ wasn't smart enough to dodge impeachment, was he?

What does IQ have to do with how far your opponents are willing to go to get rid of you?


IQ tests are too vague and, for these purposes, too meaningless to be of much use. If we wanted to examine a potential president's intelligence, I'd examine academic and extra-curricular history, figure out where his/her strengths and weaknesses are, and then see look at how strong are the strengths, how weak the weaknesses. So...maybe he/she doesn't test well, but writes jaw-dropping essays, or is great at debate.

If we wanted to look into standardized testing, I'd be more interested in personality tests than IQ tests. "130" doesn't say nearly as much about a person as "Rampant paranoia, delusions of grandeur and an inability to tell fantasy from reality."

 

[theVirginian]

I'll take integrity and wisdom over IQ any day of the week.

 

[RavenPoe]

Integrity. I think we had an integrity vs intellegence thread once, and an interesting discussion as to what we'd prefer in a leader.

I'm against testing for the President. Firstly, it'd be too hard to draw the line, and descrimination would ensue. Secondly, if we're stupid enough to elect them, then we have to deal with the consequences.

 

[kopilo]

I would like to see leaders be subjected to an EQ test, for the pure fact that I don't want a leader 'spazzing out' when the country needs him/her the most.

 

[ews]

I'll take integrity and wisdom over IQ any day of the week.

Do you think we'll get a candidate this time around with integrity and wisdom? Boy-‘o-boy we haven’t seen that in years.

 

[Sapphos]

Current drug addiction is a problem. But what's the problem with having a former drug addict. They're simply more likely to pass useful and effective legislation when it comes to drugs and rehab.

As for an IQ test, I would say that someone with an IQ of 83 isn't going to get elected, but looking at Bush... lol.

But has been said, political accumin is far more inportant than intelligence.

But I would say that intergrity and a strong sense of fairness and justice would be very important. Especially intergrity. That way you wouldn't get the hypothetical evil genius in power as they would tell you that they are an evil genius.

 

[k]

Inteligence is maybe the most deceptive of all human traits. We should look at who the prez associates with as much as the candidate himself.