Re: On Luthor and Bush:
Honestly I don't think Bush was an idiot, he just wasn't a great (or even good) public speaker, plus his mispronunciation of words led to easy mocking.
And I know your opinions of the story Box, but I say Millar had the most realistic take on Luthor becoming President in Red Son. If he really put his immense mind to it, he can solve all the worlds problems in that position of power. Of course they couldn't really do that in the mainstream DC universe but I guess that means they shouldn't have done that story in the first place.