Re: POTUS: A Sharpie Is Always Needed
Being able to score well on objective tests is an advantage, but the older I get the more I believe it is a woefully inadequate measure of a person. One of my parents and at least one of my children had IQs north of 150, and generally strong test taking abilities got my immediate family members into Harvard, Stanford, U of Chic, Columbia, MIT, and similar so-called blue ribbon schools. But IQ and objective test results were not stressed and rarely discussed, because I think we just understood what an incomplete measure those tests are. Resilience, empathy, humor, curiosity, the ability to care were given higher value. After undergrad, I spent the first 13 years of my adult life swinging a hammer, and I'm grateful for that experience--worked along side some extremely healthy minds during those years.
Intellectual horsepower is a good thing. I wish our President had even a little of it, because many things appear to beyond his grasp. But any number of tools can perform fairly similar functions (circular saw, hand drill, etc), each can be top-of-the-line, and yet have their highest best value in completely different circumstances. We are that way. Add the qualities we desire in a human being, and objective measures become even less compelling.
The above comments are cliche, but they deserved to be made anyway.