The "Uneducated" POTUS Candidate

[Pilgrim]

Gov. Scott Walker continues to rise in popularity as a GOP favorite for the upcoming presidential campaign, and it seems the most egregious dirt the media has been able to dig up so far is his early departure from Marquette University during his senior year to take a full time job. If this is the best they can do it appears Walker is off to a good start, especially when his highly successful record as governor of WI becomes better known by the American public. Personally, I would encourage the Dems and the MSM to continue to alienate the millions of middle class Americans who have led successful lives in spite of not wasting tens of thousands of dollars on college degrees with questionable value.

Insisting on academic credentials as a way of evaluating leadership abilities -- let alone suggesting that being a few credits shy of an undergraduate degree is disqualifying -- is so worthless that it boggles the mind that Democrats would even float this as a talking point. In fact, based on the 2014 mid-term results, Democrats' inability to woo white voters without college degrees is starting to really hurt them at the ballot box.

For decades now, America's higher education system has poorly served Americans. If you can weld, you can land a job making six-figures tomorrow. If you recently acquired a B.A. in sociology, well, can you tell me how you do that thing where you make the foam on top a latte look like a heart? There's a reason why the lack of a college degree is practically celebrated in Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are all college dropouts. Peter Thiel says a college "diploma is a dunce hat in disguise" and wants to blow the higher-ed system up entirely. Sixty-three of the people on the Forbes 400 don't have college degrees.


Scott Walker Didn't Finish College. And? | The Weekly Standard

 

[Turtle]

While a college degree is certainly not a requirement for getting a good job, or being a good leader, it's not something that should be dismissed as unimportant for most people, either. Yes, 63 people on the Forbes 400 don't have college degrees, but 337 of them do.

Without question, many on the left are suddenly realizing that a college degree is the most important thing in, like, ever, much the same way that people who couldn't care less about dog fighting suddenly took it on as their personal life mission when Michael Vick was engaged in it - hammering a conservative for not having a degree is simply a convenient way to criticize a conservative on the high ground, just like criticizing Vick was a way to criticize a black dude while remaining lofty. Liberals are suddenly of the mindset that the the republic itself will fall if the "uneducated" "dropout" "loser" gets anywhere near the reins of federal power.

We've certainly had many presidents with no college degree, which is why, of course, Democrats are quick to qualify things in terms of "modern" presidents, or presidents "in many generations." Abraham Lincoln, the President, the lawyer, had only about half a year of formal schooling of any kind, but that's ancient. Every president since 1953 has had at least a bachelor's degree.

Of the 44 men who have been president, 33 have graduated from an undergraduate college and 11 have had no degree. College degrees have set the Presidents apart from the general population, most holding degrees even when having a degree was rare and thoroughly unnecessary for practicing most occupations, including law. Of the first seven Presidents, five were college graduates. Truman never had a degree. Woodrow Wilson had the only doctorate degree. But some of the worse presidents in history have had law degrees, including Obama, Nixon, Ford, Clinton and Chester A. Arthur.

Some of the best presidents, some of them lawyers, got their education through independent study. It's the thirst for knowledge and leadership ability that is far more important than an actual degree. If it was ever in question, we've seen over the last 6 years how academic achievement and leadership qualities don't always go hand in hand.

By the same token, there is little doubt in my mind that if Obama was a college dropout, Republicans would have a very different view of just how important a college degree is right now.

 

[layoutshooter]

All those degrees, 18 trillion in debt, must not be TOOOO smart. Endless wars, must not be TOO smart.

There is NO evidence that a degree is needed to be in politics, in fact, it would seem the opposite. I would even be that a very large number of jobs that require a degree, don't really need one.

It is also a total farce that a piece of paper, only, is often worth more than 20 years actual work experience in the same field.

There needs to be a balance, right now, there is not. The idea that "everyone" is better off with a degree is absurd. Most jobs out there, in reality, don't need much beyond high school. Most jobs are easy to learn.

I am NOT speaking of DR's or other's that need special training.

We also don't know what Obama did, or did not, do in school, he was far too arrogant to provide his transcripts. IF he is going to tout his education one would think that he would be quick to provide them.

 

[skyraider]

all is well,,seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

 

[Pilgrim]

By the same token, there is little doubt in my mind that if Obama was a college dropout, Republicans would have a very different view of just how important a college degree is right now.

How much you wanna bet that some of the other GOP contenders will bring up the diploma thing - directly or indirectly - during the Republican primary process. The will do so at their own peril.

 

[Turtle]

If they do, they'll need to do it through the back door. Like, "I have a college degree. I think it's important, in this day and age, and it was important to me, to complete my education." And when asked to clarify, they'll respond, "It's important to me that I complete my college education," and then let people infer whatever they want. LOL

 

[Pilgrim]

If Walker and his handlers are on their toes, they could very well turn the education thing into a big advantage for him. The rising tuition costs of college for diminishing educational returns, the imposition of Common Core, the liberal indoctrination of the nation's children by the NEA, the student debt being accumulated by today's students who can't find a decent job after graduation, etc, etc...the list is endless and most middle class Americans can relate to almost everything on it.

 

[Turtle]

The one thing he'll have to avoid is sending the message that a higher education isn't important. The future depends on technology, in both discovery and advancements, so higher education in math, engineering and the sciences are critical. Most conservatives know that, though. The two primary drivers of science are war (fear of dying) and economic return (fear of dying poor), and it's conservatives more often than liberals who push for scientific research funding.

 

[Pilgrim]

More emphasis on economics and good old fashioned civics would also be a plus. There's an abysmal number of younger people who have no idea how the economy or their government really works.

 

[layoutshooter]

More emphasis on economics and good old fashioned civics would also be a plus. There's an abysmal number of younger people who have no idea how the economy or their government really works.

The really abysmal numbers are those who don't care and those who disbelieve those things when they are taught it.

 

[Pilgrim]

Maybe another discussion subject that will be brought out will be the fact that there's a lot of kids in college now that don't belong there, and they're wasting a lot of money on outrageous costs getting indoctrinated in political correctness by socialist nitwit professors and majoring in debauchery. Now our spendaholic POTUS wants their first two years of this experience to be free. Maybe this money would be better spent by only paying for classes that are completed at trade schools where students learn to be welders, plumbers, electricians and machinists, all of which lead to good paying jobs. Young people pursuing a career path like this would be a lot better off than spending $100K and six years for a useless degree, then end up waiting tables.