@MontereyJack,
No he isn't. He's a phony who associates himself with the views of people that he thinks are probably intellectuals, in a desperate attempt to fool gullible people into believing that he is also an intellectual.
Of course, that in itself is harmless. But it torpedoes your nonsense about him being of sound intellect.
He is also a pretty nasty person underneath the "Look everyone! I think what that guy over there thinks!" veneer. So he fails on the character test as well.
He's a bad person all around.