Scott Walker's college problem

[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.

[Mister Mets]

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.

It's extraordinary for someone to serve in statewide office without graduating college.

It doesn't really come down to race or gender. I think Walker is the only Governor or Senator without a college degree.

Part of that is that his rationale for not having a degree is largely acceptable.

There is another plausible candidate for public office who doesn't have a degree: Bill Gates. It's not about them being white guys, but what they did instead.

[Mister Mets]

You should never just only look at the highlights of someone's resume.  It should be about their ability to do the job, in terms of skills and talent.

That said, I'm personally not super impressed by someone having a political career.  Success in politics is mostly connections, hard work and sales-skill.  But, when you're talking about the Presidency, you don't just want a good salesman who has great rolodex  a swing state.  That's a type of skill I guess, but it doesn't speak to your character or your brain.

The President should be an exceptional person.  With someone like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, that's not a question.  Hillary or Barack could be one of the top corporate lawyers in America.  They could be CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  They have that kind of resume and intellect.  Love them or hate them, that's true.

Is Scott Walker that type of person?  I don't think so, but to be fair, I just kind of write him off because he's a squinty-eyed Republican dork.  But, it doesn't matter what I think.  I just think Scott Walker needs to prove himself qualified intellectually, more so than say, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.  We'll see if he can do that.

Governors do have skills that are transferrable to being President. It's going from being in charge of a large bureaucracy to being in charge of an even larger bureaucracy (Walker's also made a similar leap before from County Executive to Governor.)

And before anyone suggests that George W Bush proves Governors make ineffective Presidents, he came from a state where Governors had to stick around for a long time to have an impact. Say what you will about Walker, he has been a consequential Governor.

Someone with the intellect to be a great corporate lawyer could still struggle in an unfamiliar environment, as Obama did. Hillary is obviously very familiar with Washington and how the White House operates, although this would be her first time in an executive position, where she's the one calling all the shots.