Palin changes colleges 6 times in 6 years
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin seems to have switched colleges at least six times in six years, including two stints at the University of Idaho before graduating from there in 1987.
And the red flags keep flying regarding this woman.
In college, I was a music major, and I generally hung out with the rockers amongst the music majors. Not exactly a Phi Beta Kappa crowd. Yet I didn't know any screw-up that transferred around this damn much. Don't know about you, but I expect a bit better in educational excellence and focus from my president (or vice-president or someone a heartbeat away from being my president).
But does the enthusiasm surrounding Palin surprise me? No, not really. After all, we had eight years with George W. Bush.
And the red flags keep flying regarding this woman.
In college, I was a music major, and I generally hung out with the rockers amongst the music majors. Not exactly a Phi Beta Kappa crowd. Yet I didn't know any screw-up that transferred around this damn much. Don't know about you, but I expect a bit better in educational excellence and focus from my president (or vice-president or someone a heartbeat away from being my president).
But does the enthusiasm surrounding Palin surprise me? No, not really. After all, we had eight years with George W. Bush.
posted by Strother | 11:11 PM
13 Comments:
Strother opines: "Don't know about you, but I expect a bit better in educational excellence and focus from my president (or vice-president or someone a heartbeat away from being my president)."
You're coming across as a liberal elitist, Strother. Harry Truman didn't have a college education; should he have served as president?
I would assume you approve of George W. Bush since he graduated from Yale and got his M.B.A. from Harvard.
S: But does the enthusiasm surrounding Palin surprise me? No, not really. After all, we had eight years with George W. Bush.
Why are you so spooked by Palin? Maybe Tanya Landreth was right: You don't like conservative women.
C'mon, Andy. You know me, and you know better than that. For whatever reason, here on the BP, you'd LIKE for me to come across as a liberal elitist and a male chauvinist. Thanks for the help with that.
Do you have anything to say about the actual content of this post, or do you want to just play ad hominem games?
This isn't so much about education. It's about being able to start and finish things with a sense of reliability and excellence. Should we not expect our VP or President to do that? Hopping schools 6 times in 6 years to get a BS degree doesn't say "reliable" to me ... and this wasn't politics, you'd agree with me.
Why are you so spooked by Palin? Maybe Tanya Landreth was right: You don't like conservative women.
Why do you keep bringing reminding us that she's a woman? Is that supposed to matter? I thought we should evaluate political candidates on an level playing field. Accusing someone of being some sort of male chauvinist every time they point out a weakness of a high-profile female political candidate is sexist. Surely you realize that.
Strother responds: "C'mon, Andy. You know me, and you know better than that. For whatever reason, here on the BP, you'd LIKE for me to come across as a liberal elitist and a male chauvinist. Thanks for the help with that."
In your remarks above, you came off as a liberal elitist. I didn't say you were one, I said you were coming across as one with remarks saying "Don't know about you, but I expect a bit better in educational excellence and focus..." Look at the two men leading both tickets: at the U.S. Naval Acadamy, John McCain liked to party and goof off; in college, Barack Obama did cocaine. Now, I don't really call that "educational excellence and focus" either, but I don't recall you posting "red flags" about their college antics. For some reason, Palin going to different colleges is a mark against her.
S: " This isn't so much about education. It's about being able to start and finish things with a sense of reliability and excellence. Should we not expect our VP or President to do that? Hopping schools 6 times in 6 years to get a BS degree doesn't say "reliable" to me ... and this wasn't politics, you'd agree with me."
I wouldn't agree with you. I say that as a guy who went to two colleges himself (I did finish in 4 years though.) My dad quit school in the eighth grade, and yet, I would vote for him in a heartbeat for president; my dad has good common sense and sound judgement. Look at it this way, even though Palin went to six different schools in six years, she was still able to finish and get her degree. I know many people who go to only one school and yet it takes them 5 - 6 years to get their degree. Ha!
S: "Why do you keep bringing reminding us that she's a woman? Is that supposed to matter? I thought we should evaluate political candidates on an level playing field. Accusing someone of being some sort of male chauvinist every time they point out a weakness of a high-profile female political candidate is sexist. Surely you realize that."
I was just making an observation that you seem to get the most riled up when it's something to do with a conservative woman. You're right, we should evaluate candidates on a level playing field, but there is a double standard going on with regard to what is said about Palin than what is said about the other candidates. I believe it has to do with her being a conservative woman.
From National Review Online:
I myself have a tale to relate. An episode left me kind of shaken, honestly. Last week, I was talking to a friend of mine — a very warm and humane woman. We’ve been friends for years. I had been away, and we hadn’t talked politics — but then, we never do. We never had. She’s a liberal, of course — virtually everyone here in NYC is. And I never, ever bring up politics (with pretty much anyone — not worth the trouble) (and, of course, I do it professionally).
But she said to me, out of the blue, “What do you think of Sarah Palin?” And while I was drawing breath to answer, she said, “I hate her.”
That kind of took my breath away — because this friend of mine is no hater. But she said it with firm, horrible conviction. She said it with true emotion in her eyes. Frankly, I was too taken aback to reply, other than to say, “Well, my feeling is the exact opposite.”
I can see how you might disagree with Governor Palin — she’s a conservative, after all. I can see how you might find her unprepared even for the vice-presidency. But hate? Hate a woman who rose from a modest background to be governor of her state? Who is obviously a warm, civic-minded, talented mother of five?
Hate?
It must be abortion, religion, and culture. If she were pro-choice, went to a mainline church (only on Christmas and Easter), and didn’t hunt, she’d be okay. At least less attacked. But then, she wouldn’t be herself, would she?
I consider myself a very patriotic person, and I have been teased or damned all my life for my pro-American views — particularly in academic settings. But, I’m sorry, this is, in many ways, a sick country.
Andy, despite our hundreds-of-words exchange in this story's "comments" box, the fact that Palin transferred colleges 6 times over 6 years has nothing to do with me, you, Tanya Landreth, conservative women, Palin being female, your dad, Barack Obama, or even John McCain (except that he chose Palin). It has to do with Palin and how seriously she did — or didn't — take her college education.
It’s neither elitist nor sexist to question, and compare, the educational histories of rival politicians. As regular Joes, other people regularly question and compare our individual educational histories each and every time we apply for jobs. Why not question those that will ultimately be in charge of our lives?
Palin is running for the second highest office in the country. As such, it’s totally OK to closely examine someone in such a position, especially someone that we know comparatively little about (most of us just heard of her and have known of McCain, Obama, and Biden for some time). In such cases — when you have to learn a lot about a candidate in short period of time — the questions come hot and heavy. It’s par for the course.
That’s the real issue here … not knee-jerk accusations of elitism and sexism or other attack-the-messenger defenses.
You're right, we should evaluate candidates on a level playing field, but there is a double standard going on with regard to what is said about Palin than what is said about the other candidates.
Such as what?
Hopping schools 6 times in 6 years to get a BS degree doesn't say "reliable" to me ...
Oh bullshit, Strother. There are half a dozen CEOs, corporate presidents, and many more completely responsible people out there who hopped around as much or more than this in college. People who are complete screw-ups in their twenties do go on to figure out how the world works and become productive, top-notch contributors.
You won't admit it, but if Palin was on Obama's ticket and she was a raging, left-wing, feminist abortionette, you would be doing the rationalization dance right now to show that it just didn't matter what she did in college. I have to laugh at your continued noise over the fly-specks on Palin's resume while ignoring the truckload of manure on Obama's.
People who participate in national politics these days are not the cream of the crop. You have to be a combination of used car salesman, attention whore, and con-man to be successful at it. People with those qualities didn't generally come from the top tiers of academia. Obama is an empty suit who came up through the ranks of the Chicago Democrat machine. McCain is a control freak fascist who found a way to take advantage of a spotty military record. Biden is a longtime political hack in the mold of Robert Byrd or Trent Lott. We all know about his academic merits. Palin is a cheerleader turned political mommy. Not a single one of them is worth their salt in an objective measure of moral leadership or even nominally good statesmanship.
There are half a dozen CEOs, corporate presidents, and many more completely responsible people out there who hopped around as much or more than this in college. People who are complete screw-ups in their twenties do go on to figure out how the world works and become productive, top-notch contributors.
Wow, really? 6 CEOs or corporate presidents? In just the US, or the world? (Probably more in the world, right?) Good stats, there ... but I'm talking about the Republican nominee for the VP of the United States of America. We're all eager to learn a little bit more about who she is before she could possibly be elected and possibly be our president. As I've said, all information reflecting her performance (including educational history) is good info to consider.
You won't admit it, but if Palin was on Obama's ticket and she was a raging, left-wing, feminist abortionette, you would be doing the rationalization dance right now to show that it just didn't matter what she did in college. I have to laugh at your continued noise over the fly-specks on Palin's resume while ignoring the truckload of manure on Obama's.
And even more ad hominem? Pretty pathetic attack, Steve. And on top of it, you're wrong. You're addressing someone who changed their registration from Independent/Unaffiliated to Republican in order to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries. I'm just trying to present a little balance on a pro-Republican Party blog, as it certainly doesn't need any more pro-McCain/Palin or anti-Obama/Biden material. Why else am I even here?
As in all aspects of life, a little balance of info is healthy.
McCain is a control freak fascist who found a way to take advantage of a spotty military record. Biden is a longtime political hack in the mold of Robert Byrd or Trent Lott. We all know about his academic merits. Palin is a cheerleader turned political mommy.
Did you mean to make Biden sound like the best choice of the four? ;)
And even more ad hominem? Pretty pathetic attack, Steve. And on top of it, you're wrong. You're addressing someone who changed their registration from Independent/Unaffiliated to Republican in order to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries. I'm just trying to present a little balance on a pro-Republican Party blog, as it certainly doesn't need any more pro-McCain/Palin or anti-Obama/Biden material. Why else am I even here?
You make ad hominem sound like it's a bad thing. In any case, I wasn't making the argument about you, I was just noting a likely situation, given the evidence of your past posting here.
I also note that your support of Ron Paul causes me much confusion, given your apparent support for Obama. You couldn't find two more diametrically opposed candidates from an ideological perspective. So I have to assume your support of Paul was completely due to his anti-war position, making you a single-issue voter, something you have denigrated (to say the least) on here before.
Finally, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing a little more balance, but you're going to have to do better than ragging Palin on superficial issues. While there is certainly some superficial material here in the anti-Obama and anti-Biden columns, there is a substantial amount of red meat as well. The double-digit types in the old media are attacking Palin on completely superficial grounds. You should strive to do better than them. Besides, you have fallen for McCain's marketing strategy. With all of you left-of-center folks spending all your time on Palin, nothing is being said about what an utter disaster for the country a McCain presidency will be.
You make ad hominem sound like it's a bad thing. In any case, I wasn't making the argument about you, I was just noting a likely situation, given the evidence of your past posting here.
Whatever you say, fellow bullshitter.
I also note that your support of Ron Paul causes me much confusion, given your apparent support for Obama. You couldn't find two more diametrically opposed candidates from an ideological perspective. So I have to assume your support of Paul was completely due to his anti-war position ...
I blame your confusion on our 2 party, "either/or" system. Meanwhile, I could legitimately argue that you couldn't find two more diametrically opposed candidates from an ideological perspective than Paul and McCain.
Seriously, though — while I find Paul's anti-war position along the same lines as my own, I found his stance on taxes, federal government spending, and our evaporating freedoms far more compelling.
... making you a single-issue voter, something you have denigrated (to say the least) on here before.
Maybe I should clarify. Being a "single-issue voter" — for instance, voting based on a hot-button issue that will never be resolved (a.k.a. common opinion of Roe v Wade, for example) — is a waste of time and emotional energy. Voting against warmongers with hard-ons isn't. But I digress. I'm not a single issue voter.
... you have fallen for McCain's marketing strategy. With all of you left-of-center folks spending all your time on Palin, nothing is being said about what an utter disaster for the country a McCain presidency will be.
Oh, yes — the "lipstick on the pig" marketing strategy. It's so true, and I almost forgot. "Pretty" can be dazzling, I must admit ... but thanks for reminding us what both Palin and McCain are — lipstick and pig, respectively.
Meanwhile, I could legitimately argue that you couldn't find two more diametrically opposed candidates from an ideological perspective than Paul and McCain.
The insinuation being that I am a McCain supporter? Oh please, you know better than that.
...I found his stance on taxes, federal government spending, and our evaporating freedoms far more compelling.
I can probably buy the evaporating freedoms part, but taxes and spending? Come on, Strother, you are supporting Obama. The guy is a Marxist. His taxation target is 100%. Read some of these articles about what he says. The only reason Democrats like Obama have a better record on debt is because they raise taxes on a whim.
...but thanks for reminding us what both Palin and McCain are — lipstick and pig, respectively.
And so we're back to the juvenile and superficial name-calling. You made my point for me. I'd say thanks, but being right just depresses me.
The insinuation being that I am a McCain supporter?
No, Steve. (And what's with the paranoia?) I'm saying that McCain is as far away from being like Paul as Obama is, but just in a different direction. There is no choice for real conservatives in this race. We agree on that.
Come on, Strother, you are supporting Obama.
Says who? You? Who should I assume that you are supporting?
And so we're back to the juvenile and superficial name-calling. You made my point for me. I'd say thanks, but being right just depresses me.
Don't lie; you love (or live?) to be right. But here, again, you're wrong and just playing coy for whatever reason.
Adding Palin dressed up (the lipstick) McCain's floundering campaign (a pig). The "lipstick and pig" analogy is accurate one. If it makes you feel better, come up with your own for Obama and Biden. (Hint: You could probably use your earlier quote of "Obama is an empty suit" as a starting point).
Come on, Strother, you are supporting Obama.
Says who? You? Who should I assume that you are supporting?
If you're not, then you're doing a damned good job of imitating one of his supporters. All one has to do is look at other posts by you on this forum. Conversely, you will find that you can assume anything you like about who I would prefer, but if you look at the evidence, namely my posts, you should readily be able to identify who I am not supporting. Hint: If he is affiliated with the Republican or Democratic Parties, I'm not supporting him.
I note also, that you didn't bother to deny it, you simply dissembled. Why the games, Strother?
Adding Palin dressed up (the lipstick) McCain's floundering campaign (a pig). The "lipstick and pig" analogy is accurate one.
You are either a dyed-in-the-wool Obama True Believer or you have lost your grip on reality. McCain's floundering campaign? That would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic. McCain went from a sacrificial lamb to Obama's inevitability, to a believable contender, to the front-runner in the space of two months. If you call that floundering, you have an interesting definition for the word. Only an incurable Obama-phile or a complete space case would try to make the argument that McCain's campaign is doing anything but stomping a mud hole in The One's ass. I even saw a poll today that says McCain has picked up several points among likely women voters. Floundering? Oh please. And I say that as someone who is completely demoralized by the prospect of McCain winning.
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