What an idiot. My first thought when hearing Trump’s scheme to add 10% to the military’s already bloated budget (last year’s military band budgets totaled $437 million dollars, for example, as compared to 148 million for the entire National Endowment for the Arts).

My second thought was How ironic, calling Trump is stupid is exactly what I’ve been ragging all my friends on for the last six months. Trump is not an idiot, he is smart, very smart. He is also an asshole and I think that is the problem. We Coastal Elites tend to think of reasonable behavior as a sign of high intelligence, and boorish behavior is a sign of low intelligence. It isn’t.

I’ve spent most of my life in the development business and successful bosses, guys who’ve gotten rich, who act boorishly are very common. A good case can be made that being insensitive to the wants and needs of others is a prerequisite for success in the development business (and unmannered and crude are merely tag alongs).