Educational background comparison between Dem/Rep

[hannibal]

Education is not everything. Recall Dubya is a Yale grad...

And dont you need a JD to be president???

[wawazat8402]

Here is my take on the university vs real world education argument.

Ive been hung on this for sometime and ended up counting it as a tie. I highly respect McCains history of leadership in tough situations. Being able to rally POWs who have been imprisoned longer than he had was an amazing feat of charisma and determination. The man has been through things that the majority will never be able to comprehend no matter how many times the story is told. Ive never been in the military, but I did hang out with some rough kids all through high school that ended up enlisting, and my take is that the military can give people some very admirable and desirable characteristics even when they had none to build off of.

I went to university instead of the military. I was lucky enough to get academic scholarships to pay for all of my school and most of my expenses for the first 4 years. I didnt work then, because I didnt have to. Is this a flaw on my work ethic? Ive done construction work, been a server at a bar, worked in a quickly growing startup company, and have lived my entire life on a farm that supports my entire family. Does my college background tell you that? Maybe not on the surface, but the fact that I kept near perfect grades in every class despite the difficulty shows that I put all of my effort into the work at hand. Ive worked with some "community organizers" that the right-wing talking heads like to laugh at, and let me tell you, theres not a single thing I have done thats offered more intrinsic rewards than spending time at childrens hospitals, senior citizens with alzheimers and parkinsons, or those who are freezing to death under overpasses in the winter. I think that background is highly commendable as well. In all honesty though, not many people have the luxury of enough free time to even wish they could do those things.

For the comments stating that education isnt that important, what about the amount of work it takes to walk away Magna Cum Laude? I know it seems like a joke in entry level classes, but 4-5000 level classes start requiring a lot of self-discipline and effort to keep up a good GPA. I see a good GPA and education as a symbol that the person is willing to dedicate late hours and cognitive effort to solve problems while being able to balance the rest of their life.

To make a last comment on the leadership McCain has displayed in the past. Where is that leadership now? He has had several proposals for how hes going to fix the economic problems. He doesnt seem confident in any of them when he speaks. He looks nervous all the time. If you were in a tight spot and all you had to go off of was composure while attempting to take the lead and solve problems, which person would inspire the most confidence in you? I truly believe that the biggest thing this country needs is a leader that can rally us together and make us fight for our unity again. Do any of you think this is the same society that was present during the World Wars? We have lost that sense that we, despite all of our differences in culture, race, religion, or educational backgrounds are American. It takes every class to make our country work for the better of everyone. I feel Obama has more of an ability to get us back together, thinking as a common people again.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling. Its going to be a tough race, because more people are interested and we will all be impacted more strongly based on the winner than we have in some time.
Modified by wawazat8402 at 3:50 AM 10/24/2008

[HashiriyaS14]

I see Obama and McCain as whores. They sway with the wind to win over whomever they need to win over to get ahead.

They both strike me as terribly unprincipled and philsophically shallow.

So, no, being a Vietnam war hero or being a Harvard grad means nothing to me.

This raises an interesting point. Do we fault our politicians for bending somewhat to get elected and stay elected?

I tend not to, except in the most extreme and unnecessary circumstances. I generally believe that for all the misdoings that go on in politics, a good percentage of these people are in the field because they genuinely want to do what they think is good for society (whether it's really what's best or not is, of course, up for debate, but they mean well). In order to have that impact however, they need to get elected and re-elected. Due to how voter perception and the electoral process works, they sometimes have to make compromises. I don't know of very many fields where compromise is not ever required and so I don't really fault them for this.

Now, I will cede that SOME of these people are only out for power and themselves, but I don't think that accounts for the majority.

I think that W, for instance, means very well. He's a man of strong convictions who harbors very little self-doubt (for better or worse), and while I think he's done irreparable harm to the nation, I don't believe he did it for the fun of it, I think that most people would agree that he's been marching towards what he perceives as a desirable outcome for America.

[CakeDaddy]

Dem Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude & Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

VS

Rep McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

&

Palin : Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Just thought this was pretty interesting myself, comments?

BOOM !!!! Case closed! No room for an argument on this one. Obama & Biden... take a seat in the white house.

McPalin... leave now and yes you can keep the clothes, but leave out the back door.

[audtatious]

Do you post anything worthwhile?

[Jesda]

This raises an interesting point. Do we fault our politicians for bending somewhat to get elected and stay elected?

I believe that as they climb the ladder, they have to concede some of their points in order to appeal to a larger and wider electorate. This is why single-issue guys like Ron Paul (monetary policy) stay in their districts despite developing a huge following of like-minded people.

But here's what makes George W Bush and Ron Paul interesting: They remained consistent and communicated their agendas to the public. Instead of bending, they explained themselves and argued successfully and gained supporters the old-fashioned way. Of course, Bush had the assistance of Karl Rove and a sea of handlers and campaign experts. Ron Paul had Youtube, C-SPAN, and his little district in Texas, and from that alone developed a massive following and pulled in millions of dollars. Still, Ron Paul's supporters, while numerous and vocal, had narrow agendas. He never won over his party or the country at large. CNN's Wolf Blitzer seemed to be a big fan though.

Even Ronald Reagan argued successfully in favor of conservative policies. He made his point consistently instead of bending, and won -- twice.

Barack Obama and John McCain seem to compromise themselves for the hell of it, hoping to win over the center. I can't respect that.

[sanioll]

See, this is something I don't seem to understand.

Why do people insist on wanting to vote for the guy they'd most like to have a beer with? Why is it relevant that your President be like you in some way (whatever you or the person in question may be like)?

I don't necessarily want to vote for someone LIKE me, I want to vote for someone who inspires me, someone who has done things that I would aspire to do. Working my way into top-tier schools from a meager background is definitely something that I and many other Americans aspire to do.

People that vote on the basis of how person connects to them, are narcissists!

When I hire an employee, I don't hire something that I could F uck, or a good looking female; No, I hire someone who is qualified for the job, and having things in common with the person comes last.

When I vote for a president, I vote for someone who is best qualified, not not someone I'd like to have a beer with ( drink rarely anyways ), or barbeque. Absolutely not. Someone who doesn't have strong ties and background to any particular religion.

[Jesda]

I think most people would like to hang out with the cool and calm Barack Obama. McCain is stiff and has a weird smile, and his wife looks like a plastic doll. A seasoned veteran like him could put fear into a wolf and probably scares children. Yeah, its a ridiculous and stupid way of choosing an executive leader, but the masses do it anyway, every single time. *sigh*

[HashiriyaS14]

I think most people would like to hang out with the cool and calm Barack Obama. McCain is stiff and has a weird smile, and his wife looks like a plastic doll. A seasoned veteran like him could put fear into a wolf and probably scares children. Yeah, its a ridiculous and stupid way of choosing an executive leader, but the masses do it anyway, every single time. *sigh*

Oddly enough, of the two of them, I think I'd much rather have the McCains over as dinner guests than the Obamas.

Brutal Presidential campaigns notwithstanding, John McCain has always come off as a graceful, affable, genuinely funny guy capable of side-splitting self-depreciating humor. Cindy also is probably a very cool chick in person, I mean a beer empire heiress married to a legendary Senator is probably pretty fun company, wouldn't you think? I bet she knows a good time when she sees one.

I was actually genuinely surprised at how funny Obama could be at the Al Smith dinner recently. Somehow I didn't expect him to be as funny as I knew J Mac would be. Maybe it's because I've seen McCain being funny on campaign buses and on "The Daily Show" for years now.

[Jesda]

It is said (somewhere) that comedy comes from pain, and both men have endured some misery in their pasts.

[HashiriyaS14]

It is said (somewhere) that comedy comes from pain, and both men have endured some misery in their pasts.

Yeah, which is why I was never surprised that McCain was such a funny guy. No one could make it through that hell without a sense of humor.

[AZhitman]

BOOM !!!! Case closed! No room for an argument on this one. Obama & Biden... take a seat in the white house.

McPalin... leave now and yes you can keep the clothes, but leave out the back door.

As you're preparing for your day, do you spray the "Fail" on like cologne, or do you just dab a little behind your ears?

Read the thread before posting your irrelevant and uninformed jibberish.

[CakeDaddy]

As you're preparing for your day, do you spray the "Fail" on like cologne, or do you just dab a little behind your ears?

Read the thread before posting your irrelevant and uninformed jibberish.

[CakeDaddy]

Do you post anything worthwhile?

How's this for "worthwhile" ?Put me on ignore if you dont like what I have to say.

[audtatious]

For being a douche I can do worse that that

[AZhitman]

Hey Cake, is that you in the avatar? Nice knockers.

Intellectual debate got to be too much for ya?

It's an interesting phenomena... Individuals without a fully-developed frontal lobe will often resort to violence when confused, irritated or frustrated.

It's ok. There are other, less challenging, topics that I'm sure you can discuss with people, without getting backed into a corner and losing your temper.

[480sx]

Politics forum ftw

[CakeDaddy]

Calm down! Calm down. Political debates are never nice and I know it hurts, but hang in there. It’ll all be over in 10 days and we can get back to talking about nothing.

[smockers83]

Calm down! Calm down. Political debates are never nice and I know it hurts, but hang in there. It’ll all be over in 10 days and we can get back to talking about nothing.

Contrary to popular belief, political debates and talk can actually be quite nice and constructive when people don't hide behind their fantastical, partisan ideas and beliefs, are open to differing opinion and criticism, and want to understand the "opposing" side. You don't have to agree, but at least attempt to understand where they're coming from. If everyone could do that when talking/debating politics, we'd get a lot more accomplished in this country.

I can talk politics with anyone in a very civil manner, but once someone takes it to the next level and gets combative about it, I can go there, too. But if you get combative with the conversation, just realize that I will beat you every time.

The bctih slap thing, in the name of politics, is "reverse" sexism. A man does that to a woman and he's locked up for years.