I enjoyed Forrest Gump as a movie but didn’t care for it’s politics, but that quote by the movie’s main character that I titled this post with is quite apropos in many situations, and apparently with politicians as well. Case in point is made in this AM’s Boston Globe article [h/t Drudge] about Senator John Kerry’s grade point average at Yale. Here’s a bit o’ data for ya:

But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago.

In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year.

Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D’s in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years.

Oh my! Weren’t we bombarded by the good Senator extolling the virtues of his intellect during last fall’s campaign, with him castigating Bush for his supposed lack of intelligence? And we thought that he was holding up his Navy records to cover up something that happened in Vietnam instead of showing how close he came to flunking out of Yale his freshman year.

The transcript shows that Kerry’s freshman-year average was 71. He scored a 61 in geology, a 63 and 68 in two history classes, and a 69 in political science. His top score was a 79, in another political science course. Another of his strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.

Under Yale’s grading system in effect at the time, grades between 90 and 100 equaled an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, and anything below that was a failing grade. In addition to Kerry’s four D’s in his freshman year, he received one D in his sophomore year. He did not fail any courses.

”I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction,” Kerry said yesterday in a written response to questions, noting that he has previously acknowledged that he spent a lot of time learning to fly instead of focusing on his studies.

Kerry’s weak grades came despite years of education at some of the world’s most elite prep schools, ranging from Fessenden School in Massachusetts to St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire.

The “Stupid Is As Stupid Does” comes into play when you see what both men have managed to accomplish in their lives. Both have parlayed their “C” Yale accumulative grade point averages into national political careers. One is the most powerful human on the planet, ending murderous tyranny and spreading Democracy world wide, the other makes pompous, bombastic speeches on the floor of the Senate while trying to impede the voting on judicial nominees. One believes in peace and freedom through strength, faith and hard work, the other believes . . . well, trying to determine that was a problem last fall, too.

Alright, enough Kerry bashing for a minute, cause he did bring his grades up to an average in the 80s his senior year, and evidently did pretty well at the Naval Candidate School. Would have been fun though if this had come out around say, August of last year, wouldn’t it? Would have loved to see what a “dumb ol’ Texan” would have done with this, and great fun would have been had by all watching John Kerry do the “Massachusetts back step” tryin’ to weasel away from the comparison. Can’t you just hear Teresa callin’ out, “Run Johnny . . . Run!” (db)

[Update: Doug TenNapel posts the pics that ran with the article (check out Kerry's great rendition of mouth breathing!) and asks a question about personal hygiene habits in Texas.]

[More updates: Michelle Malkin has loads of links to posts on the Boston Globe's reporting of the documents released to them called "KERRY'S 180: THE SPIN CONTINUES?". Wow!

Captain Ed is wondering "Did Kerry Turn Over Full File To The Boston Globe?"

And Mark Coffey at Decision '08 ("Because it's never too early") asks, "Is John Kerry the Stupidest Politician Alive?"]

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