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“And I’d like to ask if you would list three Presidents whom you think were intellectually adept.”

First - I like Sarah Palin, but when she could not answer the question about a Supreme Court case she disagreed with, other than Roe v. Wade, it disappointed me. She comes across as too folksy in my opinion, but that is just that, my opinion.

As for the question, the left has always viewed their candidates as intellectually superior, but frankly, that is just snobbery. They believe that being in agreement with the Ivy League or Europe somehow is more enlightened than being in agreement with the common man. With that in mind, here are my three:

#1 - Ronald Reagan. He had a folksy way about him too, and was dismissed by media elites as non-intellectual, but he communicated with a much larger vocabulary and in a way that expressed a deep understanding of what is needed for this country. He believed in cutting taxes, stronger defense and in moral absolutes of right and wrong, good and evil. He spent more time in public office than Palin has, so he probably was better versed in “government speak” than she is. As for communication - there is not, and probably never will be, any one better. He could make even his harshest critic feel at ease with a joke, but then turn around and make the boldest of statements, such as calling the Soviet Union “evil.” Palin seems to lack his “gravitas,” but that is just my opinion.

Not impressed by our recent crop, although I do like Dubya better than most. Here are the other 2 then:

#2 - Richard Nixon. While he was a fool for getting caught up in the Watergate scandal (he was going to win anyway, so why do it?), he was very adept politically. He opened our relationship with China to begin the weakening of the soviet union, got us out of the Vietnam mess and brought the country out of the tumultuous 60s that Lyndon B. had left him. Kissinger probably was the true brains of his foreign policy, but I will give Nixon credit. He came across as intellectually adept.

#3 - Hmmmmm......... can’t think of one that actually served as president that I would classify that way that has served in my lifetime, so I will have to go with some candidates that did not make it.
Fred Thompson was very intellectually adept, even if he was emotionally inept during his 2008 campaign.
Dick Cheney is one of the most intellectually adept Republicans of the past 50 years (did he ever run for prez?).
Newt Gingrich, while I find his global warming ideas to be ridiculous, his masterminding of the 1994 election and the subsequent showdown with Clinton was brilliant - if only he had had the media savvy of Bill.

What do you think?

I didn't do a good job of making my query clear, sorry about that. I meant any POTUS, not necessarily in our lifetime.
If you are asking me who I believed to be intellectually 'heavyweights, the first name that comes to my mind is Jefferson, then Madison and JQ Adams. (The former preferred the company of farmers over politicians. Who does that sound like?) Both would have ably answered if asked to cite a SCOTUS decision they disagreed with. Both were also lawyers.

I can't fault Mrs Palin for her (non) answer. She couldn't name one off the top of her head, I shrug my shoulders and say, "so what?"
If presented the facts of a case I am confident Palin would be more than able to deem if it is, or not, constitutional.
I also realize that for 'aesthetics' sake; to convince those voters who aren't exactly in the 'serious thinker' category, Palin will need to see that episodes such as the Couric interview aren't repeated.

I wasn't implying that you were 'anti-Palin', as I appreciate your constructive and honest critique of her.

Not sure I'd describe Reagan as an 'intellectual'. I guess it depends on how one defines that term and how much importance it is to being POTUS. That stated, I firmly believe Reagan, along with Jefferson, our greatest and most effective POTUS.