The 2008 Candidates & Their Educational Backgrounds

If you ever wondered about the college careers of the 2008 Presidential & VP candidates, here is a side-by-side comparison:

Barack H. Obama: Occidental College - Two years. Columbia University - B.A./Political Science with a specialization in International Relations (1983). Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude (1991) & first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review & recently lecturer on Constitutional Law at University of Chicago Law School (1992-2004)


AND

Joe R. Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science (1965). Syracuse University College of Law-Juris Doctor (J.D., 1968)


VS.

John S. McCain: United States Naval Academy (1958) - Class rank 894 out of 899 (just like George Bush, McCain born into an elite family and graduated at the bottom of his class, though his father and grandfather were Navy Admirals) &


AND

Sarah L. H. Palin: Attended Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. Studied business administration in fall 1982.
Attended North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene. General Studies major in spring and fall 1983.
Attended University of Idaho. Studied Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcast News in fall 1984 and spring 1985.
Attended Matanuska-Susitna College in Palmer, Alaska. Fall 1985.
Attended University of Idaho. Spring 1986-spring 1987. B.S. in Communications-Journalism. Graduated spring 1987 and finally earned that elusive B.A..


So pretty much the story line is we have two underachieving people who were unmotivated to learn more than the ABC's of college (McCain & Palin) versus two people (Obama & Biden) who pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps and had to earn their way to the best colleges in the country. Now, which team are you going to hire to lead the world's most powerful and richest country? To be fair, making A's and B's in college does not absolutely guarantee a path to success, influence or riches, and certainly there are a few Master's Degree recipients selling used cars. There are also, after all, many successful entrepreneurs, CEO's, and community leaders who may not have been Honor Roll or Who's Who students. However, it is hard to see how anyone cannot have the intellectual curiosity that it takes to run the complicated federal infrastructure of any country, much less the United States, without at least some basic appetite for learning.