Scott Walker's college problem

[IceSpear]

I'm going to agree with the consensus that attacking Walker on this wouldn't work and would probably even backfire. That said, the fact he didn't graduate could plant doubts in the heads of some voters. But such doubts certainly shouldn't be stoked by the Hillary campaign or Democratic campaign apparatus.

[windjammer]

Trying to attack him for this will backfire, because it will make the attacker seem like an elitist snob.

[H. Ross Peron]

I mean, it should be an issue. But we are a nation of dumbs, unfortunately.

Yes I'm sure Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman were absolutely unfit to be President, unlike such eminently qualified college educated men such as James Buchanan and Herbert Hoover.

College education is a standard today and it wasn't in the past. Can't really compare. There are great men in history who were illiterate or only had 8th grade education.  That is not fit for leadership in the 21st century.

Having a college degree was pretty standard for politicians and the like by 1945 and even in 1860. Do you think Scott Walker would be exponentially for qualified for leadership solely by virtue of having done a little coursework to receive his diploma? Is Lula of Brazil who ended formal education at second-grade a far worse leader of his country than Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria who has PhD?

[King]

I mean, it should be an issue. But we are a nation of dumbs, unfortunately.

Yes I'm sure Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman were absolutely unfit to be President, unlike such eminently qualified college educated men such as James Buchanan and Herbert Hoover.

College education is a standard today and it wasn't in the past. Can't really compare. There are great men in history who were illiterate or only had 8th grade education.  That is not fit for leadership in the 21st century.

Having a college degree was pretty standard for politicians and the like by 1945 and even in 1860. Do you think Scott Walker would be exponentially for qualified for leadership solely by virtue of having done a little coursework to receive his diploma? Is Lula of Brazil who ended formal education at second-grade a far worse leader of his country than Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria who has PhD?

No I don't think it affects his ability to President. I think his resume as Governor of Wisconsin would speak to that question. It's also true nobody called W. Bush smart for graduating from Yale.

I think he can be attacked on it though, not as a personality flaw, but on education issues it definitely can be brought up.

[Cory]

Is there some valuable course he missed out on by leaving a year early to get a good job?

This. Why is everyone pretending he just up and "dropped out" like some kinda burnout or something?

It will absolutely zero impact on the election in any way.

[emailking]

I think the President should be smart, be adept at politics, and know a lot about major policy areas such as the economy and foreign policy. College may help with some of that or, more likely, lay the groundwork for developing those areas. But if someone has developed the proper skills and knowledge I don't think it matters much at that point how they were developed. Not sure how much he knows about foreign policy but he seems to be competent in the other areas. I doubt I will be voting for Walker, but I think this will likely be a non-issue for me.

[Likely Voter]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-scott-walker-mulls-white-house-bid-questions-linger-over-college-exit/2015/02/11/8e17ea44-b13e-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I mean, it should be an issue. But we are a nation of dumbs, unfortunately.

His lack of college degree by itself doesn't make difference (Harry Truman, for example, lacked a college education, which had no bearing on his abilities to do the job).

There are many things that makes me very uncomfortable with a mere thought of Walker being President, but college degree issue is not one of them.

[PresidentTRUMP]

I was torn between the second and third options.  I don't think having a post-secondary degree is a qualification for office, but most folks want to elect someone with good judgment.  His decision to drop out could be seen as a sign of poor judgment.  It may also be evidence of a lack of tenacity.

hahahaha how on earth can you say it was bad judgement, he probably landed a 6 figure salary. Is a TWO term governor of Wisconsin and going to run for president of the United States...I think it has worked out just fine for him.

[Lincoln Republican]

I believe many voters expect more of those who would attempt to lead the nation than they may expect of Mr. and Mrs. Citizen.

Most Presidents have gone on to further education.

Most recent

Jeb Bush Graduate University of Texas Austin
Hillary Clinton Juris Doctor Yale
Barack Obama Juris Doctor Harvard
George W Bush MBA Harvard
Bill Clinton Juris Doctor Yale
George HW Bush Economics Yale
Ronald Reagan Economics/Sociology Eureka
Jimmy Carter Graduate U.S. Naval Academy Annapolis
Gerald Ford LL.B Yale
Richard Nixon LL.B Duke (Had a full scholarship to Harvard but had to turn it down for family reasons)
Lyndon Johnson Graduate Southwest Texas State
John F Kennedy International Studies Harvard
Dwight Eisenhower U.S. Military Academy West Point

A post secondary degree shows that you are willing to put in the necessary work and effort to further your qualifications and to broaden your mind.

We should not be minimizing the value of a post secondary education in our leaders or in those who would hope to lead us.   

[Badger]

I would feel much more comfortable about him if he had a JD from Yale or Harvard.

Like ted cruz?

[Lincoln Republican]

I would feel much more comfortable about him if he had a JD from Yale or Harvard.

Like ted cruz?

Or like Bill Clinton, or like Hillary Clinton, or like Barack Obama.

[Badger]

Walker (at the moment) has a bigger Electoral college than college problem.

Well done. Please post more often.

[Mister Mets]

It's mostly a moot point.

Considering he dropped out of college in his senior year to take a decent job, the degree would be nothing but a piece of paper for him. Anyone who argues it was an irrational decision is on shaky ground, so a fight over that element of his background would probably help Walker, and make his opponents look petty. There's a weak argument that Walker should've gotten a degree because he's meant to be an inspiration to young children as a prominent politician, but that's as far as it can go.

However, if he says something dumb, it'll be especially harmful. He's less able to have Quayle style gaffes.

[Devils30]

Not a real issue but if he's dumb in debates like Perry it will come up and he'll be laughed out of contention.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Imagine if Obama or Hillary dropped out of college. Likely, none of us would even know who they were in the first place.

A white Republican man like Scott Walker can "get away" with that, because reasons. Even Sarah Palin (eventually) finished her Bachelor's.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Imagine if Obama or Hillary dropped out of college. Likely, none of us would even know who they were in the first place.

A white Republican man like Scott Walker can "get away" with that, because reasons. Even Sarah Palin (eventually) finished her Bachelor's.

I don't think it's cuz he's a white guy based on what I've read. I think it's more because he's a conniving schemer who will do anything to be in power from what I've read (plus being in the right place at the right time for the Tea Party Revolution + heavily funded recall fight over an issue the base cares about). I'm not denying being white doesn't help, but his personality and political drive likely played a far greater influence.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Imagine if Obama or Hillary dropped out of college. Likely, none of us would even know who they were in the first place.

A white Republican man like Scott Walker can "get away" with that, because reasons. Even Sarah Palin (eventually) finished her Bachelor's.

I don't think it's cuz he's a white guy based on what I've read. I think it's more because he's a conniving schemer who will do anything to be in power from what I've read (plus being in the right place at the right time for the Tea Party Revolution + heavily funded recall fight over an issue the base cares about). I'm not denying being white doesn't help, but his personality and political drive likely played a far greater influence.

My point there wasn't that being a white man was a guarantee of being successful in politics or other fields (obviously it's not), but more that women and racial minorities have had to invest more in education to even be taken seriously in fields that were traditionally dominated by white men-let alone to be successful in them.

[SPC]

Imagine if Obama or Hillary dropped out of college. Likely, none of us would even know who they were in the first place.

A white Republican man like Scott Walker can "get away" with that, because reasons. Even Sarah Palin (eventually) finished her Bachelor's.

Why do we not know Obama's GPA when Walker's 2.59 is common knowledge?

[All Along The Watchtower]

Imagine if Obama or Hillary dropped out of college. Likely, none of us would even know who they were in the first place.

A white Republican man like Scott Walker can "get away" with that, because reasons. Even Sarah Palin (eventually) finished her Bachelor's.

Why do we not know Obama's GPA when Walker's 2.59 is common knowledge?

...

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Imagine if Obama or Hillary dropped out of college. Likely, none of us would even know who they were in the first place.

A white Republican man like Scott Walker can "get away" with that, because reasons. Even Sarah Palin (eventually) finished her Bachelor's.

Why do we not know Obama's GPA when Walker's 2.59 is common knowledge?

This is nonsense. Walker didn't graduate so it helps to know part of the reason why. You also tend to hear about it when it is lower like the case of Perry.

In addition, Obama transferred into Columbia and only spent two years there. I don't know how representative GPA would be. It's almost assured to be high though. Especially considering he continued into Harvard Law where he got magna cum laude. I haven't researched, but his graduate GPA is likely 3.75+. That's enough reason not to even bother.

Also, Ivy League!

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Can we add Rand Paul to the list of those who are going to have a "college problem"?

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/13/rand_paul_caught_lying_about_his_college_record/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

3 years and out seems to make a good presidential candidate. Maybe I should make this my last semester.

Obviously the graduate degree helps his case some, but I don't remember this coming up in 2010 as the article mentions. So long as nothing comes up like he presented himself as have a Bachelor's to get into Duke, he will be fine

[bobloblaw]

It seems that the liberal media us determined to make this an issue.

And the left navel gazes as to why they cant win the White Working Class vote. Their attitude is "Vote for us, but dont dare run"

They risk essentially undermining the concept of American Democracy and turning the USA into a nation where not only having a college degree is required, but a certain type of degree from certain universities. It turns the USA from a Horatio Alger country into a aristocracy. The every people complaining about inequality are about to make college a requirement for leadership.

[dmmidmi]

Let's put the shoe on the other foot--if a Democrat who didn't have a four-year degree was running for the Presidential nomination, I'd have serious misgivings about casting my vote for them.

I have a master's degree. Considering that universities have been generous in awarding four-year degrees for several decades now, I expect my President to have obtained at least the same educational level as the Front Office Manager at the Candlewood Suites a few miles from my office.

But, I guess asking the person in charge of hitting the Doomsday Button to have a four-year degree in communications or whatever bullsh!t degree most athletes get is "elitist."

[IceSpear]

Let's put the shoe on the other foot--if a Democrat who didn't have a four-year degree was running for the Presidential nomination, I'd have serious misgivings about casting my vote for them.

I have a master's degree. Considering that universities have been generous in awarding four-year degrees for several decades now, I expect my President to have obtained at least the same educational level as the Front Office Manager at the Candlewood Suites a few miles from my office.

But, I guess asking the person in charge of hitting the Doomsday Button to have a four-year degree in communications or whatever bullsh!t degree most athletes get is "elitist."

The fact that it takes very little effort to get a "bullsh!t degree in communications" kind of proves the point that there's no need to consider a college degree as a prerequisite.