In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinions in The Times.

David Brooks/Obama Admires Bush

The Short Version: Obama is smarter than his press releases sometimes make him seem.

In his words: “Everybody knows that Obama is smart (and he was quite well informed about Lebanon). The question is whether he’s seasoned and tough enough to deal with implacable enemies.”

Score: D (Disingenuous)
First of all, the headline is misleading because it refers to Bush I, not the current version. Second, we know that Brooks is going to ultimately support the Maverick, so it’s kind of nauseating to seem him pretend to admire Obama’s intelligence, and — worse — to reframe his positions as being in line with Republicans who were only slightly less extreme than what we have now.