Obama, in jab at Santorum, says college not a luxury

reuters.com ^ | February 27, 2012 | Caren Bohan and Samson Reiny

[Tailgunner Joe]

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - In a veiled jab at Republican White House contender Rick Santorum, President Barack Obama said on Monday that a college education was not a luxury and pledged to do all he could to rein in skyrocketing tuition.

"We can't allow higher education to be a luxury in this country," Obama said at a White House meeting with Republican and Democratic state governors. "It's an economic imperative that every family in America has to be able to afford. And frankly, I don't think any of this should be a partisan issue."

In comments last week that stirred controversy, Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, criticized Obama's emphasis on higher education.

"President Obama once said he wants everyone in America to go to college. What a snob," said Santorum, who has sought to court blue-collar voters and conservative Republicans as he vies to become the Republican presidential nominee to challenge Obama in November.

On the campaign trail, Santorum has also compared public schools to factories and called for a reduced role for the federal and state governments in education.

[Nextrush]

College and university costs are linked to the high salaries and benefits of their employees.

So Obama will ask the unionized employees to take a pay cut????

NOT........

[Artcore]

Oh, poor Barry...can't take even a little criticism! Looks like Santorum is getting under the big eared, Kenyan’s skin?

Can you imagine Obama getting his skinny arse handed to him in a debate?

FUBO!

[SunkenCiv]

Zero never had to pay for college.

Or apparently for anything else — including pot or a little blow.

He’s been a kept man throughout his life.

And it’s been rich Muzzies taking care of things.

But that’s just an irrelevant factoid.

Thanks Tailgunner Joe.

[Vendome]

Higher education? A luxury?

Not even a necessety. sum duh dumbest people I know is colleege grajutz.

[HiTech RedNeck]

There is a classic O’bummer mischaracterization going on here. It’s like that if everyone had enough dough, they’d go to a university? Not everybody wants that. Not everybody needs that. There are callings and careers where universities are crucial. Nobody would want a doctor who didn’t go to college and medical school. But a fellow whose aspiration is to be a truck driver? A large chunk of union folks themselves, come to think of it?

[Eva]

Obama misses the point as usual. Not everyone wants to go to college, free or not. Rush limbaugh, bill gates and Steve Jobs never graduated from college.

[Brilliant]

We can’t allow gasoline to become a luxury, Barack.

[Eva]

Obama misses the point as usual. Not everyone wants to go to college, free or not. Rush limbaugh, bill gates and Steve Jobs never graduated from college.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I’d like to see the O’bummer show us what he did, and how he did, in college. He’s talking about college, now show us what it did for you, O’bummer! That is weird, a president who won’t even put his sheepskins up on the wall.

[mardi59]

“President Obama once said he wants everyone in America to go to college. /

If this jackass wants EVERYONE in the country to have a college edu. maybe he should figure out a way to keep half of them from dropping out of highschool first. Lame moron.

[goldstategop]

I agree with Santorum. A lot of young people would benefit from technical education and receiving practical job skills.

Obama, who has never known blue collar work, thinks that’s beneath Americans.

Pass on the arugula!

[Girlene]

"We can't allow higher education to be a luxury in this country. It's an economic imperative that every family in America has to be able to afford.

what an idiot. There are plenty of college educated kids, living with their parents, without a job in their field today, who owe thousands for a degree they cannot use.

Let's focus on jobs.

[MarineBrat]

...every family in America has to be able to afford...

This jagoff is out of his peanut, and hellbent to destroy America.

[CainConservative]

Obama says college not a luxury

---

Snob!

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Anything that costs over $50k that doesn’t provide shelter is a luxury.

[Nifster]

Gosh yeah EVERY child MUST go to college.....how else will they get their brains washed enough to follow me????

[zorro8987]

i know people who make $80,000 annually, and up (like more than $90,000, even) —working w/ computers, who never went to college and didn’t get a GED, even.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The great “equalization” of America, this attempt being a little more high minded at first, but behind it is just as much of an Alinskian cynicality as behind O’bummer’s other proposals.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

Institute standardized national testing for anyone and everyone who wants to prove what they know and compare what they've learned to what others in their field of study know. In this manner, the person who goes to a community college, or took online courses, can get the same credit for what they learned as the person who paid $50,000/yr. at a traditional university. If forced to compete in that manner, tuition would stop increasing at the rate it has.