User blog comment:Imhungry4444/One Piece Chapter 696 Review/@comment-3119203-20130124011312/@comment-3119203-20130124013314

Whitebeard, at the time he took on the whole of the Marine's might, was an old, sick man. I doubt the other Yonko have the kind of health impediments that he has (aside from Shanks, which was stated to cause no loss of power), even though they may not have been able to match him in his prime. Even if they aren't as strong as him, the sheer amount of might they have is evident: the power to control islands in the most chaotic area of the world and bring entire wars to a close with merely your presence isn't for the weak. I'm not really understanding your point there.

Luffy may be absent minded, but he's not as stupid as he looks. He was bright enough to recognize that he wasn't strong enough to become Pirate King two years ago, but as it looks right now, he isn't doing much better. Even without a Mensa IQ, he has some common sense, which he certainly isn't showing off right now.