Those who have wondered if smart people can be stupid do not have to
look very far, nor do they have to look through the lenses of any particular
ideology.
∞ A president of the United States, graduate of Yale Law School, and
Rhodes Scholar showed behavior so ‘‘stupid’’ that few people can
understand why he did what he did. Beyond any hormonally
motivated behavior on his part, the whole world wondered how a
trained lawyer could have allowed himself to become entangled in
such a legal nightmare.
∞ A seasoned prosecutor and judge with a reputation for some
brilliance damaged his good name among much of the U.S.
population with his apparent vendetta against a president. His
campaign left many people convinced that the prosecutor was more
interested in ‘‘winning’’ than in pursuing any reasonable legal case.
∞ A U.S. congressman known for being ideological but balanced and
wise left the fray with his reputation in tatters when he and his fellow
House ‘‘managers’’ pursued a case they could not win.
∞ A former prosecutor and state’s attorney general in Delaware was
sentenced to death for murdering a girlfriend who jilted him.
∞ A world-renowned geologist, while being investigated for and
charged with storing child pornography, involved himself with a boy
whom he was later accused of molesting.