Comments on: Sarah Palin’s College Daze

By: AustinRoth

AustinRoth — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:45:09 +0000

jdave – thanks for taking it the way it was meant!

By: kritt11

kritt11 — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:47:34 +0000

uh well I'm no snob about higher institutions of learning, and don't mind a president who didn't graduate summa cum laude, but I also have noticed plenty of reverse snobbery on the right about those who are intelligent, and have gone to Ivy League schools being elitists who don't know how to relate to the average voter.

It certainly is no badge of honor to get a “D” in Economics when you would be facing the greatest economic meltdown of our times.

By: jdave

jdave — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:22:37 +0000

Well Austin, I can appreciate your humor.

By: DLS

DLS — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:43:53 +0000

Not only working to afford college, but choosing a college one can afford on one's own often decides which college one attends.

By: StockBoySF

StockBoySF — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:34:33 +0000

While the quality of the school is pretty important, it's not the only factor. It seems that Sarah Palin knew what she wanted and was willing to work for it, and her entering beauty pagents (in the link to the LA Times piece) helped pay for her college, at least for a semester. This country would be better off is more people folowed Palin's example and got a college degree, even if it means working to be able to afford college. And if they wanted to switch schools until they found a place they felt comfortable in then so be it. So it's great that Palin was willing to work to put herself through college.

By: DLS

DLS — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:23:07 +0000

Do some Canadian junior high schools actually have majors? That's news to me.

By: AustinRoth

AustinRoth — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:21:51 +0000

I have thought carefully on my reply to you jdave, as I want you, in particular, to take me seriously. It is very, very important to my mental well-being.

PPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTT!!!!!!

By: jchem

jchem — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:10:09 +0000

"...that the several colleges she attended aren’t all that great..."

So I suppose you would be the first one to start arguing that we should withhold the funding they get? I mean, if they aren't all that great and aren't performing well, it may be time to pull out that scalpel that Obama mentions.

Why don't you do a bit of research into the Universities themselves, and see what kind of research they do, how many students they enroll, what kind of work their graduates do, or maybe even who the notable alumni are from all of them? You mentioned in your second paragraph where Bush came from--two of the most prestigious schools in the world. Yet, look where that's taken us.

"...that her college career was so erratic and unfocused, and so shallow; that some of her education was government-supported..."

As a member of Academia myself, I will simply say that this pretty well describes most college students I teach and work with on any given day. This isn't a bad thing; it's my job to engage them. I agree with JSpencer, intellectual curiosity is highly desirable for someone running for office, and I can't point to anything she's displayed. But I think there is much more to disqualify her from office than where she went to school.

By: PWT

PWT — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:09:47 +0000

Mr. Stickings, why is it that every time that you want to make a claim about Mrs. Palin or Mr. McCain that has been debunked by a reliable source, you use your own previous blog post as a reference?

In this post, you claim that Palin was backed by the AIP. Both FactCheck.org and Wikipedia dispute this claim. Why would the AIP back a Republican? I guess in the vaunted college career that you've had, (have you graduated yet or are you going to be changing majors again?) that sort of un-serious reasoning is acceptable, nice try, though.

By: JSpencer

JSpencer — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:59:28 +0000

Bottom line, a certain amount of intellectual curiousity is desirable in someone who might be president of the USA… no? Where are the signs of those qualities in Palin? Seriously, someone feel free to point them out..

By: DLS

DLS — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:15:31 +0000

Some of the language he used is, shall we say, ironic (and likely a projection).

By: jdave

jdave — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:00:01 +0000

Austin, your characterization in no way matches what Stickings actually wrote.
If you want to be taken seriously, you should provide some support for your criticisms.

Your criticism may in fact, apply to some but not to Stickings.

By: AustinRoth

AustinRoth — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:42:37 +0000

Yes, as we all know, only graduates of 'approved' schools, and of 'correct' academic careers, are deserving of success in life.

And there is of course the accepted Leftist corollary – all Republicans are morons; all Democrats are geniuses.