I understand and somewhat agree with your point about his self-destructive impulsiveness. BUT you said:I'm not arguing Bundy was stupid, only that he was impulsive and it held him back. Had he some self-control he could have completed law school and likely had a decent career ahead of him. But he couldn't control himself and even if he didn't get caught he probably wasn't going to have a decent career anywhere. Oddly enough, lawyer is supposed to be a good fit for a psychopath, but I doubt many of them would actually be successful at practicing law.
Which is not true. Graduating “with distinction” is the exact opposite of that. And his intelligence was such that despite skipping classes, he still did well on his law school exams.he couldn't complete college
Obviously, his psychopathy-induced impulsivity clearly derailed his career. The kidnapping conviction torpedoed that. But if he hadn’t been caught for that, who knows? There’s all kinds of attorneys with serious issues in active practice, and local bar organizations are only beginning to recognize that in the past decade or so.
And just like the practice of medicine or law enforcement, once you’re in, the rules mean it’s hard to remove you.