Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, et al are not stupid people. But based on their policy, the question is: How can so many intelligent people be so dumb? It is easy to dismiss Bush as stupid, when in fact he is, rather, a clever man, and a brilliant demagogue - easily the best of the past hundred years. Bush is anti-intellectual, utterly and smugly incurious, and very likely dyslexic - but no, he is not an idiot, as some would have it. In fact, he is politically very clever.The syndicated political columnist and PBS commentator brings his years of opinionated, yet rational, political analysis to the table as he examines several arenas of the failed Bush regime: environmental policy, fiscal policy, health care, social security, education, industry, science and technology, taxation, foreign relations and more.By comparing their rhetoric to their dismal political record, Oliphant provides a useful historical analysis of the Bush Administration - and explains how a system so seemingly competent and mechanised could fail so miserably, and with such frequency. In the wake of the mid-term restructuring and promise for future change, "Utter Incompetents" provides a unique and sound investigation of what went wrong in this political operation - and what this means for a Bush legacy, and the next administration.