Perhaps we should say that he is intellectually uncurious. To draw a parallel to the housing bubble, there are some of us who engage in intellectual discussions about the bubble, are driven to understand how it all works, and are constantly processing information and engaging the world around us. And then there are the rest of us who decided long ago that housing prices will never go down, that there can be no bubble, and even in the face of mounting evidence refuse to deviate from our original ideas.

We elected a President who can make small talk about Texas weather and football with the best of them, but who likely does not enjoy watching The History Channel or spending too much time debating the historical role of religion in America or the historical reasons for Christian/Muslim tensions. Most people I have met in my life have a similar orientation, and that is likely how he got elected. It also happens to be his achilles heel. Presidents should be masters of intellectual curiosity and firm in their convictions that are borne of arduous debate and re-examination. A president should be able to masterfully understand and even argue all sides of an issue, and in the end illustrate why their beliefs and actions are valid.