Fred Becker of Wonkette notes George W. Bush lording his office over Samuel W. Bodman, his PhD-holding Secretary of Energy, yesterday:

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate the Secretary of Energy joining me today. He’s a good man, he knows a lot about the subject, you’ll be pleased to hear. I was teasing him — he taught at MIT, and — do you have a PhD?

SECRETARY BODMAN: Yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, a PhD. (Laughter.) Now I want you to pay careful attention to this — he’s the PhD, and I’m the C student, but notice who is the advisor and who is the President.

You think someone’s a little insecure? Sure seems like it — Bush actually used the same line on Andrew Biggs, one of his Social Security officials, back in February:

THE PRESIDENT: Tell them whether or not we got a problem or not,
from your perspective.

DR. BIGGS: Put simply, we do, in fact, have a problem.

THE PRESIDENT: By the way, this guy — PhD. See, I was a C
student. (Laughter.) He’s a PhD, so he’s probably got a little more
credibility. I do think it’s interesting and should be heartening for
all C students out there, notice who’s the President and who’s the
advisor. (Laughter and applause.) All right, Andrew, get going.
(Applause.) Andrew’s got a good sense of humor.

Bush also pulled rank in March on Jeff Brown, a professor:

I’ve asked Jeff Brown to join me. He is a professor. He can tell
you where — where do you profess? (Laughter.)

DR. BROWN: I have a PhD in economics, and I teach at a business
school.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. It’s an interesting lesson here, by the way.
He’s an advisor. Now, he is the PhD, and I am a C-student — or was a
C-student. Now, what’s that tell you? (Laughter and applause.) All
you C-students at Auburn, don’t give up. (Laughter and applause.)

What it tells me is that some people pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, and others were the son of the president of the United States.

Given Bush’s frequent need to mock experts with graduate degrees, it’s no wonder his administration has a pathological aversion to expert advice. After all, who’s the president?

Update 6/23: Welcome Wonkette readers!