I don't think of myself as partisan as much as I do an aficionado of intelligence and well spoken people who display some intellectual honesty. Be he a Democrat or a Republican, if he has some brain power and doesn't just pander all the time, I am going to be a fan.
You might disagree with Obama, but at least he's smart and can articulate his reasoning in a persuasive way. On the right, I like Ron Paul because I think he is very knowledgeable and speaks in an intellectually consistent way about economics. Now, I might disagree with his theorizing, but I respect his intellect and so you don't see me on here mocking him or blasting him as stupid.
I don't have a lot of respect for Pelosi, really, because she is prone to spewing out the usual liberal rhetoric without actually articulating an argument. She is also prone to making dramatic over claims, as we see in this thread. But I certainly have more respect for her than for Palin, who I consider to basically be a complete dolt.
Bachmann, well, I think she is an evangelical Christian at heart, and would rule based on right wing morality born of habit more than wise policy. And up until about 6 weeks ago I was convinced she was as dumb as Palin and maybe just a bit nuttier. But she has impressed me of late and, while I would never vote for her, you will notice that my commentary about her is less assailing her lack of intelligence.
Folks on the right who I respect for intellect: George Will, Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul.
Folks on the right for whom I have no respect based on lack of intellect: Palin, Beck, Bush.
