Frank had his own family so he couldn't have been too dumb. Paulie...now he was stupid. I think Frank is awesome and Wallach is an excellent actor. He was nominated for awards for this small role.
I think that case has been pretty well made by the posters above that Frankie had street smarts. In his role as family Don, he didn't necessarily have to exhibit strategic thinking.
The negative comments about Wallach are also not necessarily about his performance. It's just that I and others don't picture about him as a mob guy. The closest he came to such a role in the past, I believe, was as the head of forty Mexican bandits in The Magnificent Seven.
