Kerry says his daughter Vanessa has won a Fulbright scholarship

Associated Press ^ | AP staff

[freespirited]

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said Saturday that his daughter Vanessa has won a Fulbright scholarship to study medicine in London. Vanessa Kerry is a 27-year-old Harvard medical student who frequently travels with her father's campaign. According to the Fulbright Web site, about 1,000 U.S. students are awarded the federally funded fellowships each year of about 4,500 who apply. Kerry told reporters traveling with him to a long weekend vacation in Idaho that Vanessa recently found out she was one of this year's winners.

[IrishRainy]

Yet another example of sKerry's tin ear. The guy doesn't have a clue.

[hgro]

Typical money grubbing by a family member of an all star giggolo and human money vacuum cleaner.

How long will his elderly second wealthy wife let him treat her like his sock muppet.

[Hildy]

Has the MSM mentioned this at all?

[jimbo123]

I'm sure Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are happy about this.

[Hildy]

Yes, they will. When is she leaving to do that?

[conservative in nyc]

But care to tell us what kind of doors the scholarship will open for the daughter of a mega-rich senator that weren't already open for her?

It looks good on her resume, especially if she to run for elective office. And, as a medical student, I'd hope a good hospital or research program would be more likely to hire her with those credentials. Plus, she has something to lure Ben Affleck that her sister doesn't!

Absent evidence that the process was politically tainted, I really think we're barking up the wrong tree by attacking Kerry for having a smart daughter. Kerry's a father and has every right to be proud of this daughter. And the media would have found out anyway.

Now, about his flip-flopping Senate record or Christmas in Cambodia...

[CindyDawg]

I don't begrudge her getting accepted. Good for her. I think it's sad though that she would accept a scholarship if she has the means to pay for it herself. It knocks someone else out that might not have had this option.

[freekitty]

Will wonders ever cease. Rich kid wins scholarship and rich father brags about it.

Wonder what the kids and their families who really need these scholarships think?

Looks like Clintons are doing their job.

[Junior_G]

It looks good on her resume, especially if she to run for elective office. And, as a medical student, I'd hope a good hospital or research program would be more likely to hire her with those credentials. Plus, she has something to lure Ben Affleck that her sister doesn't!

Absent evidence that the process was politically tainted, I really think we're barking up the wrong tree by attacking Kerry for having a smart daughter. Kerry's a father and has every right to be proud of this daughter. And the media would have found out anyway.

I disagree. ALL DOORS were already open to her. As much as we may wish it weren't so, those good hospitals would have been stumbling over themselves to let the senator's daughter in. The scholarship does not improve her lot one iota; though it could have drastically benefited an applicant not already so blessed.

[dodger fan]

I'm not sure. I just have heard, when the plans of the daughters for after college are discussed, that Jenna wants to go to New York, and Barbara wants to go to Africa or one other place, I forget where. I think Barbara wants to be a doctor, so would go to medical school, but I've always gotten the impression that she was going to do humanitarian work before going back to school. The time frame referred to is a vague "after the election".

[visualops]

From the site:
"The Fulbright Program provides grants for Graduate Students, Scholars and Professionals, and Teachers and Administrators from the U.S. and other countries.

Fulbright in Brief

The flagship international educational program sponsored by the United States Government, the Fulbright Program is designed to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries..." With this goal, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 250,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study and teach in each other's countries, exchange ideas, and develop joint solutions to address shared concerns."

Actually to call this a scholarship is misleading. The Fulbrights are grants. There are approximately 1100 grants available *worldwide*. For 2004-2005 there were approximately 5700 applicants globally.

I have no doubt she applied because of the value and prestige attached with winning such a grant. She certainly could have pursued study abroad without the help of a grant. But it sounds alot better to put "Fulbright Scholar" on one's resume than just studying abroad or working on a project for a year.

[Beaker]

heeheehee... no need to worry about watching your language. If I'm old enough to drink, I'm old enough to cuss. :-) :-p

[Beaker]

But seriously, that kind of stuff makes me want to vomit and cry. :-p I've had to claw my way through school finacially, and things like this just disgust me. Merit based is merit based, and that's all well and good, please don't get me wrong there. But that could have gone to a kid that actually needed the money.
A friend of mine is in the same boat I am, and she lost out on a Rhodes scholarship recently to someone who didn't need the money.

[DianeDePoitiers]

The Fulbright scholarships aren't necessarily based on merit either - it's more like whom you know on the selection committee, whether you have the correct political persuasion, etc. Something like the Pulitzer prizes.

[Betteboop]

My brother was a Fulbright scholar in 1964--he studied in Italy one year and then, after he and the school had a difference of opinion, he spent the next two years living and working there till the draft board forced him to come home. We definately were financially in need--no way we could have afforded this.
I think it's disgraceful that she should get this in place of someone who really needs the money.

[mountaineer]

The Fulbright scholarships aren't necessarily based on merit either - it's more like whom you know on the selection committee, whether you have the correct political persuasion, etc.

Not exactly. My professors urged me to apply because I had excellent grades in my major course of study; I did apply, but wasn't selected. My sister, after earning a degree at Northwestern University, did receive a Fulbright scholarship to study music in Vienna. The money paid for her apartment and most basic living expenses while she studied with the first clarinetist of the Wiener Philharmonik. Trust me - our family had no connections and no discernable political persuasion. It was strictly merit. It's not always strictly merit, I imagine, but in many cases it is.

The thing that really puzzles me about all this is that Vanessa supposedly has received this after she's already started medical school. In the usual case, it goes to someone who's just graduated college, not to someone already halfway through graduate school. That's why this story sounds fishy to me. Of course, anything related to the Kerrys stinks like four-day-old fish, but I digress.

[CindyDawg]

You might have made it too though, if someone above you had not have applied that could have paid for it themselves. Who knows?

[Kozak]

I would love to see the list of winners, then run it against a list of prominent politicians, media types, celebrities etc. The AVERAGE 0f 1/5 might be somewhat misleading. No proof. JUst suspicious of anything associated with a yellow dog Democrat like Fulbright was.

[ozdragon]

If she has any class she will express gratitude for the scholarship and return the money so some one less fortunate has the opportunity.

[No Surrender No Retreat]

Klintoon received one also, and had to leave Oxford early due to a rape incident. Fulbright a commie and commie enabler. The elitist life style of the rich and unfamous. Bush/Cheney 2004