Bush chose a persona when he decided to run for office. He decided to be seen as a man's man, all-American, rancher, so on and so forth (the West Wing has a few great episodes on this sort of trope, by the way). He was extremely effective in fooling Americans into thinking he was "on their level." He wasn't. He has an MBA from Harvard. He's been knee-deep in political theory his entire life. He's a genius. But geniuses don't get elected President of the United States. He chose his legacy, effectively. It's a bit stupid of his former advisors to walk around trumpeting how smart he actually was -- do you see Bush himself doing that? Does it matter? No. He decided to be perceived in a certain way, it worked, and now he is and will be forever seen as a down to earth kind of guy. Anyone (read: any liberal) who falls into the trap of believing they are so much smarter than George Bush is blinded by partisanship.