ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the question: Is Al Gore too smart to have good judgment? It considers that the question seems both paradoxical and unnecessary. Smart generally refers to the capacity to make use of information. Being well informed refers to the range and depth of the information itself. The capacity to be well informed reflects a certain level of intelligence, of course. The attribution of intelligence to Mr. Gore is built on his mastery of and immersion in the details of policy, his ability to provide long detailed answers to policy questions on the stump and during the campaign debates, and the missteps of Mr. Bush. Persons with hysterical elements in their psychology will often make poor judgments, not because they lack intelligence, but rather because their anxiety keeps them from clear or constant focus. One might characterize the relationship between ambition/self interest and personal ethics/community interests as the basic judgment framing issue in every important decision a leader makes.
