Gov. No-Neck Is No Dumbell
Was it the accent? The biceps? The frat-boyish goofin’ around? Something about Arnold Schwarzenegger always conveyed the impression that the guy had the IQ of those dumbbells with which he was always preening. Now that he’s governor, however, even detractors have begun to suspect that Conan has more than muscle between his ears.
Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor best known for his books on “multiple intelligences,” suggests that people look not to astrophysicist Stephen Hawking but former Gov. Ronald Reagan for a window into Schwarzenegger’s intellect.
“When people use the word ‘smart’ or ‘intelligent’ they almost always mean ‘school smart’ -- someone who is good in language and logic and therefore succeeds in the tests that we give in school,” Gardner says. “People were always surprised at how successful Ronald Reagan was in politics, because he seemed so illogical.
“I suspect that, like Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger does not have the intelligences of the law professor [language and logic]. But obviously, as an athlete and actor, he has excellent bodily intelligence, and he also knows how to motivate [interpersonal intelligence]. He is reasonably skillful with language [linguistic intelligence].... But even more so than Reagan, he has enormous charisma. That is not a form of intelligence in itself, but it is probably worth 30 IQ points!”
Here are a few other evaluations by Schwarzenegger-watchers:
George Butler
Co-director of “Pumping Iron”
and longtime Schwarzenegger acquaintance
[Schwarzenegger] is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. But it’s not normal intelligence. He’s the ultimate street-smart guy. He’s got this marvelous intuitive intelligence. ... He’s one of the craftiest negotiators you’d ever meet.
--
John Hein
Former chief lobbyist for the California Teachers Assn.
He’s very smart. I’ve heard other people characterize him as a chess player, and I think that’s accurate. He’s wily. [But] I think he’s getting frustrated ... He saw the leverage points more clearly than the goals.
--
Milton Friedman
Economist
He’s not smart as a technical economist. He’s not going to start telling you about macroeconomics. [But] the fundamental principles of economics are simple. You either get them or you don’t. And he does. [He has] an active, intelligent mind, good analytic ability. He’s trying to simplify and clarify things and get rid of complication.
--
James Cameron
Director of “The Terminator”
He’s brilliant in a timeless sense that you can imagine ancient warrior kings being brilliant. He basically checks every box in our Darwinian hind brain that says “this is a leader.”
--
John Burton
Former state Senate leader
He’s very good at ... politics and salesmanship and showbiz. Politics is salesmanship. Governance is different. Governance is having knowledge, experience, and capitalizing on the knowledge and experience and learning from mistakes.
--
Donna Arduin
Schwarzenegger’s former
finance director
Brilliant. He was as quick as anybody I’ve ever met in terms of grasping [math and numbers]. He was always the only person in the room absolutely keeping up with new concepts. I’m big on charts, and [in meetings] he would say, “Let’s draw it like this.” He soaks it all up.
--
Garry South
Strategist for former
Gov. Gray Davis
Part of his smarts was running in the recall. It was the perfect environment for him. But ... it didn’t take a genius to beat Cruz Bustamante.