Posted on 03/19/2015 6:44:42 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
What do Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Scott Walker have in common? They all changed America. And they didn’t need a college degree to do it.
On Feb. 12, Democratic former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean deemed GOP front-runner Scott Walker unfit for the presidency because he dropped out of college. “The issue is, how well educated is this guy?” said Dean on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I worry about people being president of the United States not knowing much about the world and not knowing much about science.”
The current Republican governor of Wisconsin attended Marquette University for four years but jumped at a job opportunity his senior year, trading his chance for a diploma for a job at the American Red Cross. He was 34 credits short of earning his B.A. in Political Science.
Presidents aren’t required to have a college degree. But in the last century, only President Harry S Truman lacked one. It’s about time we had another. If Walker’s smart, he may turn this missing credential into an advantage.
The Constitution simply states that to be president, one must be a natural-born citizen and 35 years old. Arguing for constitutional ratification in the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison — writing as Publius — held experience and virtue as the most important presidential qualifications.
What Walker lacks by not holding a diploma, he makes up for with real-world experience, good character, practical education, and significant policy experience. He holds the knowledge, skills, and proven track record to be a strong contender should he be chosen as the 2016 GOP nominee. Publius would endorse Walker.
Walker launched his political career just after leaving Marquette. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1993. After four re-elections, he spent the next eight years cutting spending as Milwaukee County Executive. After reforming a corrupt county government, Walker became Wisconsin’s governor in 2011. Now in his second term, Gov. Walker has turned a state deficit into surplus and enacted labor and educational reforms.
He intended to return to school to finish those 34 credits, but life got busy: He married, had children, and ran for office. In 20 years, he went from being a college dropout to governor, all while raising a family. His story proves that hard work and determination matter.
Walker is not too different from most Americans either. According to the Census Bureau, only 31.7 percent of adults over 25 had finished college in 2013. Walker can play these stats to his advantage; he already has.
We say we want our politicians to be “just like us.” We like the idea of a president who rolls up his sleeves and eats a half-slab of ribs — an average Joe (or a plain Jane, for Hillary). But the credentials of recent American presidents show the contrary to be true. Experience tells us that the American people want a president who is extraordinary while seeming just ordinary enough. They are hardly like us.
Just look at the other potential candidates. Hillary Clinton has degrees from Wellesley and Yale; Ted Cruz graduated from Princeton and Harvard; Bobby Jindal graduated from Brown and Oxford. Scott Walker stands out among this clan of educational overachievers.
Now more than ever, a college degree has become the entry-level ticket to economic and political success, as well as an indicator of worth. The America that once prided itself on real-world experience and common sense now depends on the credentials of a slip of paper.
Walker must continue to prove his credibility in other ways to have a chance at the Oval Office. He can use his lack of a degree to his advantage by relating to the majority of American voters who did not attend or finish college. Even those with degrees may find it refreshing that the next president didn’t come from an elite class of Ivy Leaguers. He can paint himself as a blue-collar hero.
In addition to appealing to the average voter, his experience makes him a strong competitor among his peers. Since 1990, Walker has run in 11 political races — not to mention a recall election in 2012 — and has won all but one. If he can articulate a clear agenda, he can turn his dropout status into an asset as he races for the presidency.
Publius was right that experience and character are the best presidential prerequisites. When choosing the next president, Americans should consider the qualifications that matter, not just paper credentials.
I dare liberals to compare Scott Walker’s college record to Obama’s!
in before the accusations of amnesty.
I love ya, Hillsdale. Spent some time there in my younger days.
But is THAT the most creative name you can come up with for your college newspaper?
Two Republicans WILL win if they get the nomination: Walker and Cruz. I don’t think any other Republican stands a chance, or is tolerable. (by that, I mean among the oft mentioned possible candidates.)
But we nominate one of these guys, or maybe a ticket of these guys, we win, period. I’ve no doubt.
It’s old school......which is appropriate, because it’s an old school....very old
You can tell this one’s a doozy from all the deleted comments.
Hillsdale Collegian is correct banner.
Seen worse.
I wonder why the Left isn’t poo-pooing Jeb’s academic pedigree -——yet.
“....Bush grew up in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and then attended the University of Texas, where he earned a degree in Latin American affairs.”
What does the Chamber of Crony Capitalism think of Walker? That is a major concern if he will be an agent of change or status quo.
Thanks! Got too much "college" in there. :)
Abraham Lincoln only had 5 years of school,
from when he was 6 til 15.
He never finished school, never went to college-
a self-educated man.
Education has nothing to do with greatness.
Abraham Lincoln only had 5 years of school,
from when he was 6 til 15.
He never finished school, never went to college-
a self-educated man.
Education has nothing to do with greatness.
Brian Calle, Orange County Register:
Gov. Scott Walker's Immigration Plan [3:49 YouTube]
Gov. Scott Walker on Iran, Russia and Keystone XL [5:57 YouTube]
Gov. Scott Walker on Legalizing Marijuana and Same Sex Marriage [2:53 YouTube]
That’s the perfect response and I hope Walker has the nerve to say it: “Let’s lay out President Obama’s transcript and mine side-by-side, and compare them”. Then just shut up and stare into the camera...
Hillary's been sitting on airplanes.
Jeb's been lounging around waiting for his turn.
How many fights have the other candidates been in lately?
How many have ACTUALLY DONE something?
http://legalinsurrection.com/2015/03/not-outraged-over-scott-walker-and-liz-mair/
“......Sorry, not buying in on that meme.
Maybe it was a mistake for Walker’s PAC to part ways with Mair if that’s how it went down.
But it’s way too much inside baseball, to use Dogherty’s term, to claim that this is a blow to Walker’s reputation or larger campaign.
Unless some people want that to be the outcome.
Walker has a long way to go before he establishes himself as worthy of the nomination. There will be many more real controversies and contrived fauxtroversies along they way, it’s the way things go.
In the meantime, Walker defeated everything the Democrats were able to throw at him in three elections in four years, has stared down the power of Democratic prosecutors in two John Doe investigations, eviscerated powerful public sector unions, and just signed right-to-work legislation.
I’m more interested in those accomplishments and Walker’s policies than in staffing issues.”
Seems to me that libs pounded on this issue constantly when Sarah Palin was running for office - she attended five colleges, none of them “very good”, etc. Pedigree matters more than accomplishments to a lot of these snobby people.
RIGHT On Edmund. My sentiments exactly!!!!
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