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Can A College Dropout Win The Presidency? — DocJay
Scott Walker has rock star status in the GOP. He turned around a bad fiscal scene in Wisconsin and is an effective manager (like most Republican governors). He defeated a recall effort led by unions, which makes him an original and tough guy. He’s got enough looks and charm to make a run at it too.
Does being a college dropout make a difference? He left Marquette with a semester plus to go (with a 2.59 GPA — hey, wait, what’s a transcript on a candidate doing out there?) and headed in to politics. He left after a few issues at school regarding political life. One guy who he accused of misappropriating student body funds for a limo ride still despises him, but, most importantly, it’s been alleged (without any conclusive proof) that Walker removed copies of the campus newspaper when it decided not to endorse him in a campaign against some anti-apartheid granola activist fellow (who ended up winning).
None of those potential sins seem big to me at all, but Lord knows the liberal media will milk them as much as possible while simultaneously obfuscating the greater sins of Hillghazi Clinton.
We’ve had a bunch of Ivy League elites lately, none of whom could run a lemonade stand for profit. Competence is desperately needed in a president right now, as is toughness beyond compare.
In the end, I don’t think the school issues matter (in fact, not being a snob may help) when Walker has a record of success to back him up.
Your thoughts?
Published in General
Nanda you squish :-):-):-):-):-):-)
I’d like to know who the last non-incumbent, non-college graduate got elected President (that means Truman doesn’t count).
I don’t think any in the twentieth century. Lincoln wasn’t, despite his being a lawyer. Anyone after him?
Yuck! Not funny!! George P is waaay too cute for that thing and besides the two in question are both married.
Walker is a good man and a tough man, but not a seasoned man and he can’t deliver any electoral votes. We need a candidate who has a proven track record of winning in a populous swing state and who can deliver 22.
Successful experience trumps credentials in my book. I hear Obama went to college.
Let’s not forget the Left’s standing and current explanation of presidential credentials: he ran a political campaign.
Credentials are a pretty low hurdle.
I like Walker and can justify it with words I learned in grad school
; )
When I write up neuropsych reports, I try to explain to parents that IQ scores are not the total picture: Here is part of what I write:
That’s also how I feel about a college degree. Completion of a degree does not take into account other factors extremely important to political leadership, such as motivation, character, management style and persistence.
Don’t get me wrong – I generally agree that the degree piece is meaningless in the long run, from a practical perspective.
But there’s a hell of a lot more college dropouts working at liquor stores than those that went on to found gigantic multi-nationals.
It’s cute, but it’s a ridiculous statement. In general: You’re better off with the degree because it increases your chances of getting an interview, and then a job. You are worse off without it.
Of course the political elites and their minions in the media will look down on their nose at him but given the trend of populism in the country it will actually get him more votes. Romney lost because he “couldn’t identify with people like me”. That will not be an issue with Walker.
We know the media will misrepresent Governor Walker, but you go to war against the enemy you have. It’s rather like complaining the Viet Cong hide amongst the populace (yes, I’m using the analogy on purpose). Let us hope the people at the RNC have learned something since the last election. Walker has taken the war to the bluest of blue states and won. How can we turn down this general? He fights!
This nation’s greatest President, George Washington, never attended college, getting the equivalent of an 8th-grade education before ending his schooling. (He taught himself surveying, though.)
The second-greatest President, Abraham Lincoln, had even less formal schooling than Washington.
Two of our worst Presidents, James Buchanan and Warren Harding both had college degrees in eras when College educations were unusual. One of the most destructive Presidents this nation has ever elected, Woodrow Wilson, had a Ph. D.
Education is useful, but it is not much as a predictor of Presidential ability.
We would have seen the oppo report on Walker during the StateHouse takeover. There is very little negative they have dug up. If Hillary’s team was still engaged they might have found something, but with Brock going legit and on the Soros payroll, I don’t see it.
All they could dredge up on Rick Perry was some really convoluted reference to the nword painted on a rock in a place he used to drive by.
Romney ,of course, was pure as driven snow but unfortunately completely polite and dispassionate . I think we have a good bench . Bush is getting the McCain treatment right now , kiss them and then kick them. He is too smart I hope.
The best we can hope for is the continued momentum behind the mainstream media’s discrediting of themselves. If the millenials have stopped watching , then it really might be about the Hispanic vote, in which case you’ll see republicans routinely adopt the amnesty. Whether it buys us the votes is unclear.
By this standard, Romney should never have bothered to run. No proven track record of winning, never mind in a swing state. I’m not sure that Walker can’t meet your standard, or at even make an argument that he could swing more than one state. He can flip WI (10 electoral votes). IA, MI, and MN are three neighbors where the GOP is credibly back in play for another +32 electoral votes. No one else has fought, governed, and won on that ground. It is too bad that the wrong Bush ran for POTUS before. Jeb has a long row to hoe…but no one should underestimate him.
(Edit to fix my mixed farm metaphor. Son of Kerry farm girm should know better!)
I hope so. Even though I’m a junior college professor, I really don’t like the modern emphasis on credentials. Americans don’t have titles of nobility, but I feel like credentials have in some ways taken the place of those. I like school because I like learning and exploring ideas, not because I want to lord over other people.
Granted, I’m a little biased since I’m a grad school dropout (I started over and got a master’s).
Fricosis Guy:
By this standard, Romney should never have bothered to run. No proven track record of winning, never mind in a swing state.
Except in developing and saving businesses, creating new jobs!
Our culture fetishizes attending and completing college.
I have far more respect for (A) a person who (as Walker did) majors in political science, economics, and philosophy but leaves school short of a degree to accept a job offer than (B) one who majors in, say, Chicano studies, completes his degree, and is unable to find a job.
Not graduating Marquette doesn’t approach the level of scandals Americans have yawned off of every other national level politician. Why are people going to get upset about that when they don’t care about past drug use, sexual scandals, lying to courts, congress, and the people, or spending billions on personal gratification and billions more on donors failed business schemes….
The media will tell their spin no matter what. Remember that Algore, who failed out of 2 master’s level programs was reported “smarter” than the man who earned the MBA.
Steve Jobs did too.
He went to Marquette for four years (according to Wikipedia) but did not graduate. Isn’t that like stopping in the 25th mile of a marathon?
I also take issue with this statement in the post: “In the end, I don’t think the school issues matter (in fact, not being a snob may help)”. Does this mean college graduates are snobs? That’s a lot of snobs.
It is meant that looking down on someone as an inferior intellect because they did not go to or finish college is a sign of snobbery.
I suppose I’m looking for a regular guy/gal connection with our country that an elite or a perceived elite cannot have. Obama faked his way to connecting with people and the press overlooked his bible and gun clinging mockery.
My grandparents, all four of them, were brilliant yet none attended college as they were all in poverty.
But I do see how my statement looks odd. Point taken.
Polls consistently show that voters tend to prefer the candidate they’d “rather have a beer with.” Why anyone EVER would want to have a beer with a seemingly arrogant ideologue like BHO is beyond me (to prove they’re not racist?) but there it is. I think people can relate to a person who left college to take a job.
I love the topic of the usefulness, or lack thereof, of a college degree. They seem to be almost entry-level at this point, and I can’t see that the benefit justifies the price tag. Even for careers that require a large amount of knowledge, I really question whether a university is the right tool for the job. Take medicine for example: do we need our future physicians to waste four years getting a degree in something before attending medical school? Or nursing: without a doubt, the smartest and most capable nurses I’ve ever worked with graduated from diploma programs in the 70’s and 80’s, which involved only nursing education.
I am the beneficiary of an extraordinarily generous tuition reimbursement program from my employer. I had to pay about $3000 to get my MSN, and will get a DNP (doctor of nursing practice) at no cost to myself. This will make me more competitive in potential future job searches, but so far, most of my graduate education has been about the focus of the university, not what the graduates most need for career success.
Super Nurse, I also expect the vast majority of your really important knowledge came from hands on events( in training or after) also.
Eighty years ago my father-in-law was offered a full football scholarship to Amherst. We still have the letter. But his dad was injured in a railroad accident, and my father-in-law had to go to work to support his mom and the rest of the family. He had the most complete history library anyone could ever have. A brilliant man.
The jokes and sneering mockery will be made about the college drop-out status and the GPA. It will all depend on Scott Walker’s ability to convince the American people of a conservative agenda, to stay on point, and work relentlessly to get above the noise. That is the life of a conservative candidate in modern politics. He has proven he can do that in a Democrat-leaning state and provide the results to back up his political agenda.
We need him to run.
Usually when talk show hosts — radio or TV — feature a segment interviewing a politician, I tune out, even when the host is someone I enjoy and respect. The reason is that politicians are, well, politicians, and so are skilled at saying very little with a lot of words and avoiding potential controversies. In other words, such interviews are usually predictable and yawn-inducing. The exception to this was an interview I heard on the radio (can’t recall the host — Prager or Medved?) with Scott Walker. He spoke clearly, didn’t have prepared statements, and obviously meant what he said. He struck me as a man who could handle himself well in any debate because he had the arguments at hand and believed in the principles that supported them. I was very impressed — and not bored. Give me Scott Walker and Ben Carson as his veep! JMath
He would be great
If Walker was able to handle the teachers’ union, he has had his trial by fire. the videos I have seen of him speaking about the fiscal issues were strong. Does he get into social issues and talk about his own religion
It doesn’t matter whether or not he does. He will be asked. He will be baited.