And Then You Go And Blow It All By Saying Something Stupid

Just yesterday, I was saying that I cannot, for the life of me, understand why reasonably intelligent people will say really stupid things. I don't mean in a casual conversation. And, I certainly don't mean in my columns, because, as you all know, I'm not reasonably intelligent.
What I do mean is when public figures make public announcements, or make a speech, or give a quote, and they say something that only an imbecile would say, and an asanine imbecile at that. I chalk it up to two reasons that this happens so often, no wait, make that three reasons.
First, they must be so impresssed with the way words form in their mouth that they feel that virtually every utterance is so magnificent that even if it sounds stupid to them, it'll sound smart to their audience.
Second reason: They have lost all ability to control their mouths. They get to talking and hear themselves thinking something stupid, and, perhaps even try to stifle, but are unable.
Thirdly - They really are not very intelligent. They've had secretaries and speech writers and PR guys and whomever telling them what to say for so long, they begin to believe that they, themselves, have the ability to formulate intelligent ideas. So, they get out in public and are asked to expound on something, and before a manager can run in and shut them up, they just come right out and say it. These are the ones that verbalize their stupidity and then smile proudly as if to say, "Did you hear what I just said?'
Yeah, we heard you alright, Bill Bennet. To be fair, I think Mr. Bennett's comments have been taken out of context. But, the guy should be smart enough to know that what he said was going to make a great sound bite. He's not an idiot (unless he falls into category number three). He knows how the media works.
The primary job (in my humble opinion) of the media today, is to find the dumbest person or the dumbest comment and to promote him/her or it. If you can find some real moron, you have a goldmine of comments. Just look at the situation in Louisiana. Don't you imagine that somewhere down there an intelligent person lost everything he/she owned? But, have you heard or seen even one interview with an intelligent person, explaining calmly how he is coping...not complaining, not blaming, not crying...just intelligently discussing the situation. I don't think I've seen anyone on the news who fits into that category.
Of course, it's always better if you can find a public figure, who, it's perceived by many, is intelligent, and catch him saying something stupid. As, I've stated above, I really cannot understand why people don't think before they say something that can only come back to haunt them.
I think it's a shame that all people who fit into any of my three categories were not aborted. Oops.