Wall Street Journal editor defends paper amid liberal backlash for urging Jill Biden to ditch 'doctor' title

Fox News ^ | 12/14/20 | Brian Flood

[Albion Wilde]

“Dr. Biden earned her degrees through hard work and pure grit. She is an inspiration to me, to her students, and to Americans across this country. This story would never have been written about a man,”

And yet in NYT's obituary for the esteemed public intellectual ad economist Walter Williams last week, the paper referred to him, a black man, as "Mr." throughout his obituary instead of "Dr.", an honorific he not only earned, but richly deserved.

NYT: Walter E. Williams, 84, Dies; Conservative Economist on Black Issues

[lepton]

who holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware

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If you look at advanced education degrees, they are closer to honorary degrees than anything rigorous - though they do require the holders to waste a lot of time and spend a lot of money.

[hal ogen]

It is is an ed.d. It is not a Ph.D. M.D. or O.D.

[Joe 6-pack]

"In Lefty world you're only as good as your last degree, real, honorary or otherwise."

Unless you're Jerome Corsi who holds a legitimate PhD in political science from Harvard. The left seems to completely disregard anything he has to say.

Glenn Beck also has an honorary doctorate from Liberty University and frequently jokes about it on his show, but perhaps he should start insisting on being called, "Doctor Beck."

[COBOL2Java]

She, like anyone who has earned a doctorate or PhD, deserves to be referred to using that honorific if that is their desire. It is simple respect and doesn’t change with one’s politics. I listen to Tucker the meaning Biden earlier for this and thought it was very inappropriate.

If she had earned a Ph.D. you might be right. However, she's got an Ed.D. which is basically an administrative degree, the kind which high school principals may earn.

Who else has an Ed.D. (an honorary one)? Bill Cosby.

[CaptainK]

Here is the Washington Post making fun of Sebastian Gorka for using the title Dr. Also remember the MSM refers to Jill Biden as Dr. more often than mentioning the title when referring to Rand Paul, Ben Carson and Jill Stein who are all MDs. See the big picture?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/04/16/sebastian-gorka-likes-to-be-called-dr-gorka-he-gets-his-way-only-in-conservative-media/?outputType=amp

[dfwgator]

I seem to remember another First Lady who pretended she was a doctor, her name was Elena Ceausescu.

[be-baw]

I did not know that. Thanks for the info.

[Vaduz]

Jill Biden ‘doctor’ know little akin to Obama being a law professor.

[windsorknot]

Jill is married to the Big Guy, the Don of the Biden Family. What’s up, doc?

[PghBaldy]

I have noticed the past several years people refer to “Dr.King,” not “Rev. King,” when discussing Martin Luther King, Jr. It is odd.

[Graybeard58]

She has an Ed.D., the same credentials as “Dr.” Bill Cosby.

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She has an Ed.D., the same credentials as my daughter and if you call my daughter “doctor”. you’d better duck.

[moovova]

Jeez that’s a hugely ugly woman.

Did I mention huge?

[MayflowerMadam]

My husband is a PhD in Physics — has been called a “national treasure” by some in the defense industry. He NEVER refers to himself as “Doctor” in social, family, etc., situations, and corrects people when they call him that. (During his career in work setting, I don’t know; I never was around.) We had been married two years before my parents knew he was a doctor.

I guess some people like it, and some don’t. It’s a personal thing. When it comes to Jill Biden, it seems like an affectation and she’s longing for approval.