A serious case can/should be made for electing well and thoroughly educated people to high office

[A HERETIC I AM]

Think about it:

Sarah Palin;

attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska, where she was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at the school, and the point guard and captain of the school's basketball team. She helped the team win the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds of the game, despite having an ankle stress fracture at the time. She earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" because of her intense play and was the leader of team prayer before games.

In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest (playing the flute), then finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant, at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award. Palin attended Hawaii Pacific College — now known as Hawaii Pacific University — in Honolulu for a semester in 1982, majoring in Business Administration. She transferred in 1983 to North Idaho College. In 1987, Palin received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho, where she also minored in political science.

Sarah Palin's WIki entry

Zero Academic Honors (unless you consider "Miss Congeniality" an Honor), No books written,

John McCain;

...Ummm...well...he was a boxer.....he didn't like taking orders.....graduated FIFTH FROM THE BOTTOM of his class (894th out of 899. By contrast, Jimmy Carter graduated 59th out of a class of 860 AT THE SAME DAMNED SCHOOL, 8 years before McCain graduated High School. (1954)) This is obviously not text from the below linked article on John McCain. Read it and you'll see why.

McCain's Wiki entry on his Academy days

Zero Academic Honors, 5 books written, all with Mark Salter listed as co-author.

Contrasted against......

Barack Obama;

Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review based on his grades and a writing competition. In his second year he was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors. Obama's election in February 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles. He graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.

3 Books written, all with no co-author listed, Numerous Academic Honors.
Obama's Wiki entry

Joe Biden;

In 1961, Biden graduated from Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware and, in 1965, from the University of Delaware in Newark, where he double-majored in history and political science. He went on to receive his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law in 1968, and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1969.

At least one book written, numerous published papers and articles, Juris Doctor of Law.
Joe Biden's Wiki entry

Just for fun....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_clinton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_carter ...who, BTW, has more published works than I bothered to count.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_reagan ...NO substantial secondary education to speak of...

and...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush ...Graduated from Yale with a Bachelors in Economics, no honors mentioned.



But McCain was a P.O.W. and Palin was a beauty queen.


Yeah. Tough choice.

On edit to add that including Shrubs Bona Fides would be sort of like beating a dead horse. We all KNOW what a nimrod he is.

[d_b]

1. but that's elitist

and we might lose the dumb shit vote we weren't getting anyway!

[MadHound]

2. Sorry, but that's a stupid idea

First of all, some of our finest presidents have not had extensive educations, contrariwise, some of our most highly educated presidents have been horrible in office. Also, had do you how well educated a person is? You can't go by degrees alone, since learning and education is a lifelong process that takes place mostly outside the classroom. I have a bachelor's degree in history, yet through my own efforts and work, I consider myself more thoroughly educated in that subject that a lot of PhD holders. Furthermore, holding an advanced degree doesn't necessarily guarantee that the person is either educated or intelligent. I've met many people with advanced degrees who are dumber that a doorknob and their education seems to have been worthless, given their actual knowledge of their particular discipline.

Oh, and yes, it would be viewed as elitist by a large segment of the population, and justifiably so.

[A HERETIC I AM]

3. Okee Dokee...

While I concede some of your points, I'm just not so sure that these days we can afford to elect people to high office who are as competent as a bag of hammers.

And if pointing out the educational shortcomings of the opposition is indeed viewed by a majority of the electorate as elitist then the American Public will get exactly what they deserve.

If they remain vacuous and ill-informed then they will elect exactly the same types of people as in the past.

It's worked great so far, eh?

[MadHound]

4. I have no problem in electing intelligent people, it is, after all, the intelligent thing to do

However how do you determine that? Number and type of degrees? Like I said earlier, some of the most intelligent people, and presidents, didn't have advanced degrees. By an IQ test? Let's not even go into the problems with that can of worms.

And yes, making some sort of measure of intelligence a required benchmark for political office would be considered elitist in this country, and rightly so. This country is founded on the principle that we're all created equal, and that we all have equal opportunity to do what we wish, including running for elected office. You put an intelligence requirement on that and people are going to tear you apart for violating the spirit and letter of the Constitution. Not a real bright idea there.

By all means, point out the intellectual shortcomings of the opposition, just don't make some sort of intelligence benchmark a requirement for running for office.

[norepubsin08]

5. Bullshit

You should have at least a 3.0 gpa Masters or Professional degree...otherwise in today's environment I just don't think you're prepared and I disagree about the IQ test...you sould test out at least at 120 or better. This way you at least know the person has something upstairs instead of rotting vegetables.

[MadHound]

7. And you would get your ass handed to you in any court of Constitutional law in this land

A 3.0 GPA masters eh? In what subject, from what school, because there are huge differences in what degree you're getting, in what subject, from which school. Furthermore, you would be excluding people like myself, who are quite intelligent, quite well educated, but simply, for reasons either economic or personal never pursued an advanced degree. Sheepskins don't mean that you're intelligent friend, only that you had the drive and resources to perservere.

As far as IQ tests go, you really need to go do your research into all of the problems concerning IQ tests. How they're worded, how they're designed, scored, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

Sorry, but our country was founded of the intellectual elite, by the intellectual elite and for the intellectual elite, no, it was founded in order that every single person in this country would be, in all matters, be treated fairly and equitably. You don't like that, move someplace else where they hand out IQ tests at the polling place.

[Marr]

6. The problem here is cultural. This is an anti-intellectual nation.

The people here (or at least, enough of them) equate intelligence with snobbishness. In the US, "elitism" has nothing to do with social class and everything to do with what books you read or what music you listen to. It's sad, but that's our culture today. We don't value intelligence, curiosity, or open-mindedness in this country-- and it shows.

[stuntcat]

8. yes

yes.

[Two Americas]

9. well Lincoln fails, then

Lincoln was not credentialed and degreed, unlike his opponents.

[A HERETIC I AM]

10. This isn't 1860. n/t

[Two Americas]

11. it isn't?

Here I thought it was.

What difference does that make?

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. Because we are not electing a President when the fastest way from coast to coast...

was a 20 day journey.

"What difference does that make?"

If you see no difference between the days of Abraham Lincoln and today, then I REALLY should not have bothered with this thread. I just hope you are a minority on this board.

It bears noting that if Lincoln was running for office today, he would not stand a snowballs chance in hell of being elected.

We need well educated people running for office. Other countries have them, why can't we? We have had them before (Clinton, Carter) but my point with this thread is the opposition can not possibly claim the intellectual high ground and THAT NEEDS TO BE EXPLOITED.

Like things the way they are? Vote for the guy that graduated fifth from the bottom of his class and the Beauty Queen with a degree in "How to be pretty and succeed while holding a high powered rifle."

If not, vote for the smartest guys on the stage.

What difference does it make, indeed.

[Two Americas]

17. ROFL

That's right! They didn't have the Internets back then, did they?

Lots of good reasons to criticize and reject the Republican candidates. Lack of academic degrees ain't one of them.

[Thothmes]

19. Nor was Harry Truman formaly "educated"

OBTW, current bush graduated from Yale just like Kerry and with a slightly higher gpa if I remember correctly. So much for the education argument. Also Ronnie had a degree.

[cherokeeprogressive]

13. I bet you are as white as the driven snow.

Am I wrong?

[Dreamer Tatum]

14. Can driven snow be stupid, too? nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

15. Driven snow has no intelligence whatsoever.

[A HERETIC I AM]

18. ?

Are you asking me what race I am or did you just get an old expression wrong?

As in As pure as the driven snow.

If you are asking me if I am a white person, here's my answer; Fuck you. What the fuck does that have to do with my point?

If you attempted to ask if I thought I was "as pure as the driven snow", meaning virtuous or without flaws, but screwed up an expression that is hundreds of years old, I say no, of course not. But I'm not running for President. I don't expect my President to be so pure either, I just want him or her well educated.

It's too bad you don't know the correct form of the idiom. Kind of makes you look stupid.

[ColbertWatcher]

16. I think we need to insure the populace gets a good education.

And that means no creationism bullshit in science classes.

Educate the people and you have a better chance of not getting a government run by morans.

[dysfunctional press]

20. but who'd want to drink a beer with some fuckin' poindexter?

get your priorities straight, mister...