Yeah, but for him, it's a toss-up whether it's malice or stupidity, since he's so full of both.

I feel that all narcissists are counting on people doing so, instead of seeing their deliberate malice for what it is. Passive-aggressives love it when people make this excuse for them as well. BTW, its possible to mask "evil and smart" in a multitude of ways; and of course, "malicious and stupid" is actually a real thing too, they are not mutually exclusive by any means.

Oooh, I love it. It's the perfect corollary to one of my favorite relationship mantras: Assume good will. Even works, sorta, with the tinted cretin you may have been thinking of. I mean, who can say it's not totally stupidity and not malice? (OK, I may have gone too far there. Sorry.)