Of course that didn't happen, but it was kind of a good one to let loose. Actually, I guess I did contribute to the fact that people think I had a wild and woolly love life.

Is it fun to start those rumors?

Yeah, it's fun, because the press is like a big bass, you just stick a hook in their mouth and they'll take it. You know, I have to say that, with all due respect, the press is pretty gullible, especially the gossip press. They love to write about anything. You just go along and feed them crap and they eat it.

You seem exceptionally smart for an actor. Do you think --

For an actor, what do you mean for an actor?

Do you think intelligence is a prerequisite for being a good actor?

You gotta start with the premise. The premise might be wrong.

OK, let's put it this way: Do you think it's a help or a hindrance in Hollywood to be intellectually curious?

I think a lot of people here have wildly varying opinions about things. No matter what it is, if you get 10 people in the business talking about something, you get 10 different opinions, but you know, they're amazingly well informed.

Let's talk about the wildly diverging opinions. I know you're interested in politics and you have a reputation for being an outspoken conservative. How would you categorize yourself politically?

That's a good question because the thing that most aggravates me about people's political stance in this country these days is that they're being polarized, and I just don't think it's necessary. People always have the wrong impression of me. I just have very specific and, I hope, common-sense responses to each individual scenario.

So you don't think the right-wing conservative label that people have put on you is accurate?

No, of course not. I'm not right-wing and I'm not left-wing. But you know, in Hollywood, if you don't agree with some kind of ridiculous assertions, people are quick to label, because there are those who maybe aren't so intelligent or who maybe aren't as rigorous in their thought process. They just have knee-jerk responses to things.

Like, I sat with somebody who was once the president of a studio and we were having dinner and he said, "George Bush is an utter moron."

And I said, "Oh, on what do you base that assertion?" And he said, "Well, he's just a moron." And I said, "Can you give an example?" And he said, "Well, there's a lot of examples." And I said, "Well, I'm not asking you for 300, I'm asking you for one." And he sputtered for about 10 minutes and he couldn't think of one, because that's actually a pretty stunning statement to make, that anybody's a moron.

I mean, whatever it took to get elected president of the United States, I don't think being a complete and utter moron is one of those predicates. It's just a facetious statement.

So you think Bush is smart?

Yeah, I do.

Why?

Because he's president of the United States and we aren't. It's facetious and fallacious reasoning to assume that you could be in a position of power like that and on some level not have the ability to do pretty shrewd and careful and, yes, intelligent, things, to be involved in intelligent enterprises.

You don't think a "Being There" scenario is possible?

No, I don't. "Being There" is a lovely fantasy and that's what makes it so charming. But in the real world, it just wouldn't happen.

So if Bush hadn't gotten elected, it would have been possible to think of him as stupid, but because he got elected we must assume he's smart?

No, no, no. And by the way, OK, that's what I was saying. I was obviously just dismissing the question, but let me be accurate. I think it's a nonsensical conversation, honestly, if someone's intelligent.

I don't know, give him an IQ test and I'll look at the results and tell you my response. Do I know that Bill Clinton was a liar? Yes, he admitted he was a liar, so yes, I have to believe, if the man admits that he lied under oath then, yes, we know for a fact because the person who committed the lie admitted to the lie. I'm not gonna say if somebody is smart or stupid or not. I don't know, I'll tell you when I read the results of the test.

So are you a Bush fan?

Yeah, I am. I'm very circumspect about people. If someone does something just loathsome, like Nixon or Clinton, then I don't have respect for them. But I'm one of those people who thinks that being president, you've got to give people leeway, it's got to be not a very easy job. So I tend to be a little more circumspect in harsh judgments of people because I think it's easy to take potshots when you don't have the job.

And you're pretty happy with the kind of decisions Bush's been making so far? You're unfazed by recent controversies, like the ...

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