Ted Cruz, who announced his presidential candidacy today, will be the subject of much vitriol in the press. But he won’t receive the epithet most coveted by liberals when they go after conservatives: They can’t say he’s stupid.
“Off the charts brilliant,” is what legendary liberal Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz said of his former student in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer a year ago.
Dershowitz had trouble rating another former Harvard student, Barack Obama, who despite multiple attempts couldn’t get into Dershowitz’s class.
“The computer kept him out,” Dershowitz said. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Ahh, the computer.
In the video below, Dershowitz tells Piers Morgan of CNN in 2013 that Cruz was one of the most intelligent students he ever taught:
One of the sharpest students I had . . . I’ve had 10,000 students over my 50 years at Harvard . . . he has to qualify among the brightest of the students.
At Harvard. Gosh, that’s like being the best tasting sushi in Japan.
Cruz’s star has fallen a bit in recent weeks as Scott Walker and Rand Paul and of course Jeb Bush have ascended. But Cruz is being underestimated.
Over the years, I’ve come to think of chutzpah and initiative and courage as better predictors of success than intelligence. But Cruz has chutzpah and initiative and courage in abundance. And don’t underestimate the power of raw intelligence.
Especially when it comes to the debates, which obviously are extremely important in both the primaries and the general election. Dershowitz:
He was in the class raising his hand . . . making very intelligent points and really winning debates all the time in the class, including winning debates with the professors.
Cruz has another talent most smart people lack: He knows how to be dumb. That is, he is able to tame his mind and stay on message. His mind will have velocity, but it won’t wander. And that’s very effective during debates.
20 thoughts on “Liberal Prof Dershowitz: Cruz was “Off the Charts Brilliant””
Thanks for this information. I was unaware of what the Professor said about Cruz and o.
Chutzpah, Initiative & Courage!
Well Cruz could be the guy IF the .01 percent folks decide he is. We of little fortune have no say. Koch and Anderson will chose for us. Lets hope they chose wisely this time.
Not a Dole, McCain, or the like.
Deprive the GOP of money.
Instead, send it to the candidate of your choice.
Don’t let the GOP decide who to run, they are who gave us Obama, twice.
I wish we could make a difference. I read Jeb (hate) is taking in a million dollars a day!
$ don’t make a candidate, voters do.
I am not sending another dollar to the national GOP.
Cruz’ biggest challenge is (lack of) charisma. He can’t win unless he can connect with the vast majority of the voters, not just the hard-liners and policy wonks. He has a long way to go in that area. He too often comes off like a complete, insensitive, know-it-all jerk. I know it’s just frustration with the know-it-all jerks on the other side of the aisle, but for whatever reason know-it-all jerks like Kerry, Clinton, Obama, Reid and Pelosi get press passes. Cruz, of course, will not.
I Disagree. If you have really listened to him you would not think that. He is fair he does not say vicious things even when it comes to obama. He does know it all he was like first in his harvard class. He has spoken out and wrote letters to the administration from day 1 that he was their. He is fantastic will do the job.
Will Jeffery Epstein be a big financial contributor to the republican Cruz campaign, on the recommendation of Professor Dershowitz? Just asking.
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Incredible how they try to twist a government shutdown threat by Cruz into some kind of unconstitutional plot to defy King Obama. These schmucks made no mention of the shady tactics used to pass the law in the first place. And without a single GOP vote. Nowhere does this even pass the smell test. Typical Communist News Network.
I think Ted understands that when fighting snakes, you need to be a mongoose. I’m not too keen on seeing another senator get in the White House though. But, I wouldn’t mind see a Walker/Cruz ticket because it would be a dirty, knock down, drag out, loser leave town fight. The goal is to crush the left…not just disagree in a civil manner… but to crush them.
After the filibuster that Cruz sustained on the senate floor,..83% of the government was still functional.
Although you would have thought that the world was coming to an end.
They are going to release their mutts to attack ANYBODY that even considers running for president on the republican side.
They will attack their families, their children, their ancestors and possibly their pets.
The possibility of a degree of common sense being invoked into the race for the presidency and the potential candidates embracing the Constitutional Principles this Nation was founded upon is deplorable to the left.
Bring it libs, you ain’t got nothin’.
Smear’s, lies, distortion, misdirection, racisim, hate and did I mention lies?
That’s all the left has in their bag of election trick’s.
Knowledge,intelligence, and the will to take this Country back from the hands of those that have driven Her toward a third world nation.
Knowledge and intelligence is essential, but the will to do it is crucial.
Walker/Cruz would work for me.
It’s very early though.
Let’s see how this plays out.
You are right, give money to the candidate, not the GOP. I have already started donating to Walker and Cruz.
fantasize much? Anything else in your life need crushing? Gonna call out your Harvard man for you? Good luck getting what you want from Criz or any other right wing Pol. Can’t win in a general election and I know that really frustrates you. Try crushing grapes, then at least you’ll have some juice to drink. It may calm you down.
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