Boob or Beelzebub?

In one of my earlier posts I referred to George W. as a fool. My choice of descriptive terms was deliberate in that, up until now, I've judged him to be a foolish, ignorant man rather than a cruel, heartless one. Last night I was discussing Pres. Bush with my girlfriend and I expounded on my view of him as a fool, and she said, "No, I don't think he's a fool I think he's genuinely malicious". This gave me pause then, and it still is. I understand why she thinks this, because many of Pres. Bushs' policies have been terrible for the poor, the environment, our troops, but I've always thought his bad decisions, while causing much harm to many, were innocuous in their intent. In other words, he isn't a bad person necessarily, he's just an underinformed, not terribly bright man who thinks he knows what he's doing, but is totally inept at his job. Her argument to this is that while he may be ignorant he has a responsibility as an adult ( not to mention being the President-hee) to inform himself, and basically ignorance is no excuse, so therefore he's malicious because he doesn't care enough to educate himself better on the issues. I see her point, but feel rather torn as to what to make of it. It really doesn't matter I guess, why he does what he does, the effects are the same. However, I love to analyze, so if anyone has any thoughts lay'em on me!