The author does make a lot of good points, but one I'd like to make is the separation of intelligence theory. Some people who may be intelligent in certain areas (literature, music, art, etc.) do not necessarily have good common sense. The best presidents tend to be the ones who have a good idea of what is best for the country and are not dissuaded by cheap pseudo-intellectual trendy arguments. They knew right from wrong and weren't afraid to suffer the consequences.
In my mind the worst political leader of the western countries was Pierre Trudeau. He was an intellectual who thought he knew it all. He was witty and humorous...and a far-left lib. He actually thought far-left liberalism made sense. In contrast Bill Clinton was just an opportunist. He knew that the far-left theories were nonsense, but he loved the acclamation that came with associating with the intellectual "elite". That is why most college profs loved Clinton. He sucked up to them big-time. Here was a pres who understood their cockamamie socialist claptrap and fooled them into thinking that he actually believed that leftist garbage.