GOP Takes Aim At Obama's Education

Politico:

Even as Barack Obama takes eight days off from the campaign trail to vacation in Hawaii, where he lived for much of his youth, the Republican National Committee is again attempting to paint the Democrat as an out-of-touch elitist, this time in a mock "Barack Obama's Hawaii Travel Guide" tweaking the Democrat for having attended an elite prep school there.

"Barack Obama's Hawaii Travel Guide," e-mailed to reporters on Friday, lists four "destinations," among them the beach locals claim is the one where Obama was photographed in his swim trunks in a shot that ran in People magazine early last year, and "Punahou School, a coeducational college preparatory day school" that Obama attended "from 1971 to 1979. The school campus covers 76 acres at the edge of the Manoa Valley."

Obama, raised by a singe mother, entered the prestigious school at age ten on a scholarship. "No one means to demean the academic successes of Barack Obama or the schools he attended," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. "The RNC and this campaign have sought to simply point out that on his Hawaii travels, there are certain landmarks reporters will likely see and this was a way to put those on the map."

Obama's elite schooling may prove a risky topic for McCain, who attended St. Stephen's, an exclusive school in Alexandria, Va., and then Episcopal High, a private boarding school in the same city, in the 1950s. The son and grandson of Navy admirals, he ended up at the Naval Academy, where, as he often reminds voters, he finished near the bottom of his graduating class.

Read the whole story: Politico

Comments

[skooby]

So now the Rethugs are saying being too smart is a bad thing? Sad.

[aquarius2001]

This is the pettiest, most immature campaign I've seen run in a long time! They have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING substantial to hit him on! So, they find this petty crap and try to make a funny ad out of it! Boy, if I was donating to that campaign, I'd ask for a refund!! JM claims to care about Americans and the "tough times" and financial hardships, but he doesn't seem to care enough NOT to waste their money on riduclous ads!

[AbbieXHoffman]

Keep on trying JM. No one is going to buy this attempt at smearing BO as too smart and to well traveled as a negative.

[NormDPloom]

Of course! It is a hallowed tradition for Republicans pretend to be what they are not---repr­esentative­s of the common man. . I think this old strategy may work again, but I am hoping that those who voted for good-old-boy Bush may have learned their lesson.

Resentment of those with more knowledge and ability is a human trait. McCain must know that compared to Obama, he is a mediocre candidate. So he makes mediocrity a virtue. Nothing new about that.

Nixon harbored insane resentment of the Kennedys just as McCain seems to resent Barack Obama.

[mydoglucky]

I know someone who interviews applicants from Harvard and Yale Law Schools. He says you know how you tell the difference between Harvard and Yale? Harvard applicants are still surprised they got in in the first place and work their asses off. Yalies think they are doing YOU a favor by showing up for the interview.
I don't know what that has to do with anything, I thought it was just funny.....
Oh, and by the way, St. Stephens CAN be a dumping ground for rich spoiled brats.

[DrFrescas]

Ugh! The GOP is dumb. They're promoting ignorance and mediocrity in education. Since when did being smart, going to a good college and being well spoken and ambitious become a liability?!!?

[aquarius2001]

EXCELLENT POINT!!!!!!!!!! And this is exactly why country's like China and Japan will always beat us when it comes to eductation. Look at Bush...the proponent of "No Child Left Behind"....(speaks for itself).

[aquarius2001]

DrFrescas...That was an EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT POINT!!!!!!!!!! And this is exactly why country's like China and Japan will always beat us when it comes to eductation. Look at W...the proponent of "No Child Left Behind"....(speaks for itself).

[impassionator]

I remember learning something in high school world history about anti-intellectual campaigns - wasn't the Nazi Party anti-intellectual? Something like that... rouse the ignorant masses against the learned. Not to create a direct parallel, but it is common for right wing extremists to stoke mistrust of the educated classes.

[BEHM777]

You are correct.

[Tommygun264]

You can add Mao in Communist China and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

[justwaitandsee]

Barack's VP: Be the First to Know
By Christopher Hass - Aug 10th, 2008 at 7:17 pm EDT

Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content
Campaign Manager David Plouffe just sent out the following email:

Barack Obama is about to make one of the most important decisions of this campaign -- choosing a running mate.

You have helped build this movement from the bottom up, and Barack wants you to be the first to know his choice.

Sign up today to be the first to know.

You will receive an email the moment Barack makes his decision, or you can text VP to 62262 to receive a text message on your mobile phone.

Once you've signed up, please forward this email to your friends, family, and coworkers to let them know about this special opportunity.

No other campaign has done this before. You can be part of this important moment.

Be the first to know who Barack selects as his running mate.

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

[neocon666]

I would love to see an ad consisting of the Obama quote "It's like these guys are proud of being ignornat" interspersed with McCain's gaffes.

[DaOne]

John Mc Cain " No R E T A R D Left Behind"

[OlderBudWeiser]

No millionaire left behind.

[neocon666]

Wait a minute -John McCain went to a prestigious school, flies around in his wife's private jet (who charged 750,000 in one month), wears $500.00 Feragamo shoes and yet we're supposed to be stupid enough to believe that it's Barack Obama, who came from a middle class background that is the elitist.

Why isn't George W. Bush, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, also went to a prestigious private school and then to Harvard isn't considerd an elitist? Oh that's right, because he's STUPID. So I guess if Barack Obama spoke like the character JJ from Good Times, he'd be a shoe-in for the presidency.

If ignorance isn't strength: why are there republicans?

[OlderBudWeiser]

I thought GWB was born with a silver FOOT in his mouth. His grasp on the English language is proof of that.

[imusintheevening]

Ann Richards, RIP

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

There is actually a positive (well I think it's positive) viral e-mail out there that 0bama scored an average of 168 on two IQ tests he took in his early days going to private school.

They say the 0bama camp is hiding his IQ so he does not appear too smart to the electorate. That fact that when we have a political environment in this country that a candidate has to hide the fact that he is intelligent is just another reason none of the big problems we have faced for decades now have not been solved.

America was build by the most elite in society aka the founding fathers who purposely sought the young nation's best minds to draft the Constitution. Now we are happier with the mediocre oaf he we would most like to have a beer with, how far have we fallen.

[DaOne]

What a f k d up nation where we have to hide the fact that our future POTUS is brilliant!

[aquarius2001]

LOL (Funny, but great point)

[notthistime]

BRAVO! Well said KQuarksSup­erKollider­. I can't believe being intelligent is supposed to be a strike against Obama and that some would prefer to have a man that ranked 894 out of 899 in his class who studied only enough to pass subjects he disliked.

You have to wonder . . .

[notthistime]

In 1951 McCain attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria. In high school and graduated in 1954. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. McCain came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel, he did not always obey the rules, and that contributed to a low class rank that he did not aim to improve. He did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects he disliked, such as math.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

[imusintheevening]

So he has another similarity to "w". He got into his College on his fathers and grandfathers coat tails and proved that he did not earn his place by his poor performance. - Legacy, the "blue bloods" Affirmative action.

[Heaphy]

That sounds like a winning strategy - mock Obama for his academic successes. The Republicans should set a new national goal - every student should graduate in the bottom 2% of the class, just like McCain did.
- Jim Heaphy

[notthistime]

LOL and there you have it Heapy. Exactly. Hopefully McCain will put out an ad saying just that.

[Zhonni]

I should have done the math before I wrote earlier. The bottom 5 in McCain's class graduated with approx. .006% from the bottom.

[atienne]

This is for the low-information, blue collar or service industry voter who have inner and/or outer contempt for the educated, ESPECIALLY if the educated is a person of color!!!

I actually see this at work. Where I work, there is a shop where safety products are made and then there is a part of the building that's administration, sales, engineers, etc. For some of the people working in the shop, they thrive off of putting anyone down or calling them names if they are from sales, engineering, etc. Quite a few of the shop employees see the rest of us that work there as 'elitist' although they don't use that specific term. They hold contempt for the rest of us because many of us hold degrees and work in offices and have air conditioning so I can imagine how voters like this would think of a well-educated Black man! Many will see it as something 'taken' from them even though those same many probably never applied themselves in the first place.

If the O campaign doesn't nail this, this will be effective for those voters even though I don't think that type of voter would cast their ballot for O in the first place.

[Seven7s]

Sad but true. They always say that it is a problem in black communities that a black kid who speaks properly is, "speaking white" but that's BS.

Anti-Intel­lectualism is an American cancer that is not specific to one race at all.

This is a good strategy for a win in Nov for the GOP and we can see the effects of the shakeup in the McCain camp. karl Rove has definatly been on the phone with a few people.

[notthistime]

I say if voters overlook Barack because he is intelligent and he is clearly os our only choice in this election -- so be it. Let them vote for the war mongering McCain who ranked 894 of 899 in his class at the Naval Academy. Hopefully they will be there for him as he works through his memory loss issues.