It’s more like diabolical, with the false front of being incompetent.
For example, think of Kaiser Sosay (sp?) in The Usual Suspects, or a reverse Chauncey Gardner in Being There.
I don't think the incompetence is a false front. It's more likely that the drug-addled communist really is incompetent, which is probably his best trait because it limits the damage he can inflict on our country. Considering how bad ObamaCare, his foreign policy, and the GM bailout were, it's frightening to imagine how much damage someone equally diabolical but more capable could have done.