That is interesting, but I suspect that Bush's apparent stupidity is at least in part an act and that his incompetence is due more to his bullheadedness than anything. Plus, he's got highly intelligent people, such as Karl Rove, doing a great deal of behind the scenes work for him. Bush may not be able to act like a Machiavellian, but Karl Rove is one, and I think that he sees Bush as having a very important role in terms of the image he presents to the American people-the good ol' boy, the man of the people. As long as he does that, people are less likely to become suspicious of the administration, and more likely to support it, despite the bad things it may do-which, I believe, is one of the basic tenets of Machiavellianism (my apologies if that is incorrect). I don't think a lot of people realize just how intelligent-or how dangerous-this administration really is.