My own opinion is that Obama is not as brilliant as he is often portrayed, but he is a very smart guy.
Besides the other items I have addressed, here are some other reasons why I think Obama can objectively be considered an intelligent individual:
1. Although he did not publish any papers in the Harvard Law Review, he was apparently involved in the editing of about 600 papers. Some of the authors have described the extensive editing-comments he gave them. None of these people, nor any of his classmates, nor any of his professors have come forward with an Emperor-has-no-clothes type story that Obama is really a moron.
2. The subsequent editor of the Law Review, who is a conservative, has said that she thinks Obama is extremely intelligent.
3. When the exams and answer keys from some of Obama's University of Chicago courses were published, they were not criticized for exhibiting poor legal scholarship. None of the people who took his courses have come forward to say that he is a moron.
4. The authors of this law school casebook thanked Obama for help in putting their book together. Obama was also thanked by a professor at HLS for his assistance in research for a paper. Part of the degree requirements at HLS is legal writing of a high standard.
5. Genes: Both of Obama's parents were Ph.D. candidates. Despite the many faults of his father, he must have been an unusual individual to get from Kenya to Harvard in the early 60's. (While I don't buy the alternative-father theories, note that the other proposed candidates are also intelligent.)
6. Obama has gone into numerous meetings with intelligent people, including his political opponents and foreign leaders and none of them has come out and called him a moron. In fact the opposite is true.
7. He figured out how to become the first black president in spite of a huge number of drawbacks that would have defeated other candidates.
He has surrounded himself with Marxists, socialists and those that generally hate America (Rev. Wright comes to mind).
It's not so clear that political beliefs are directly tied to intelligence.
He clearly has no sense of economics
Obama has a left-leaning sense of economics but he clearly is able to grasp the very complex nature of the current economic crisis.
and he isnt even admitted in Illinois to practice law!
Obviously Obama was once admitted to the bar in Illinois. He let his membership lapse since he wasn't practicing as a lawyer.
On the face of it you’ve made some points. However, you do not appear to understand how much cover affirmative action types get. The system that was put into place by left wing ideologues makes the achievement of its participants suspect.