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

[RENREVARD]

Mccains camp with the little scholarship thing is saying ; All you white people Obama got a good education because he black. Hint hint : Afirmative Action. No mention that Obama earned his way in because he is smart.

[popey1234]

if obama is so darn smart, then why does he not think that the usa is the greatest, most giving country in the history of the world. he seems ignorant when he constantly brings up our "tragic mistakes of the past"................ignorant or unpatriotic, take your pick

[vintagejulie]

So America has never made mistakes?
Is that you are saying?
I guess they did not teach much history where you went to school....

[Yohomegirl]

*recent past. Invading Iraq on a pile of lies, as a vehicle for stuffing the unborn's tax dollars in the pockets of the oily rich.

[justwaitandsee]

Ignorant or unpatriotic is your post

Please provide realistic conversation.

Do you actually think America has been a perfect country?

Its ignorant mind like you who take great pleasure in exhibiting hate towards the same countries that put oil in your homes and cars. What if these countries decided to take oil away from our country how would you survive?

[CanadianforObama]

Um. Because it isn't?

[going2ireland]

O does not think that because this country, under Republican reign, has only been generous when there is something financially to the advantage to those in the Republican administration - not to the advantage of this country.

O has is right and there is absolutely nothing wrong with stating that the US has made some grave mistakes - when we admit our mistakes, we strive to not make the same mistakes again.

Unlike the Republicans, who never admit they they have done anything wrong and so continue the same path of destruction.

[JiminNC]

Yeah dammit ... we need someone who got into school on his father's and grandfather's honor, then headed straight for the bottom of the class. We don't need no stinkin smart people running this here country!

[yvonne61]

WHO MCCAIN FOR PRES. THAT A JOKE

[Yohomegirl]

Yvonne, I think Jim was making a joke. NC is going to whup McCains stupid a$$!

[Daly]

Getting in on his dad's admirals coattails is one and then failing to perform was either a slap in the face to the family OR he was really doing the best he could at 5th from bottom either way nothing to be proud of.

[naschkatze]

Suggested theme song for the Republican convention: "We don't need no education". I think the song was called The Wall or was that the group?

[ThermoChemist]

In 1979, Pink Floyd had a hit with Another Brick in the Wall, from the album The Wall (film in 1982).

Lyrics: Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 (Waters) 3:56

We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

"Wrong, Do it again!"
"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you
have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
"You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!"

[remc]

Whoa! Total fllashback, dude.

[Meggie]

Darn. After 8 years of the repub's choice of idiots, I was hoping that the smart, educated people would get a chance again. Amazing that this tactic works! Choose the mediocre, the one less curious, the one who never even thinks to the edges of the box.

[bronceye]

Let's see. A prestigious high school on a scholarship vs. a private boarding school. A Harvard grad with honors vs. 893 of 898 at a military Academy. Youth, vigor and intelligence vs. age, alzheimers, memory loss and loss of honor per veiled accusations of treason. A change vs. a dumber ditto of bush. C'mon, America. Put John in an old Sailor's home and let Cindy find a younger cad.

[Yohomegirl]

In the last 3 days NC has registered 26K new Dems and only 13K new repubs. We have 73K + more Dems than Repubs, we will go with Obama, the elite, smarter candidate!

[naschkatze]

Woo, woo! Thanks, I love hearing news like that! I think Howard Dean is having a massive voter registration after the convention (and hopefully DURING the Republican convention).

[donaldw6]

Vote early, vote often!

[CaptainVideo]

Karl Rove's strategy is to go after an opponents strongest assets and frame them as weaknesses.

If the opponent has won several medals while serving in the military while your own candidate avoided serving in combat, Swiftboat your opponent.

If the opponent has an excellent academic record and won merit scholarships while your own candidate graduated at the bottom of the class, call the opponent an elitist.

If the opponent can motivate and inspire voters and draw large, enthusiastic crowds, while your candidate has trouble filling a high school gym, call him an empty celebrity.

Glorifying mediocrity and incompetence while denigrating ability is a standard Republican electoral ploy.

[nk007]

CaptainVideo:

Bravo! Very well put. Just to think that these are the same people who claim to believe in meritocracy. Remember how Republicans on the Supreme Court, in Bush v. Gore, derided voters who were confused by the ballot and ended up voting for Buchanan instead of Gore. Now Republican operatives pride themselves for nominating "C" and "D" students for the presidency. Well teachers, you have a problem on your hands: If the President is proud to be a "C" student, and a presidential candidate to succeed him is proud to be a "D" student, how do you motivate your students to earn good grades? Especially when the presidential candidate who earned good grades, graduating, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, is continually denigrated for his achievements.

[donaldw6]

Oh yes, let's talk education, McDunce!

"[A]s he often reminds voters, he finished near the bottom of his graduating class."

Not NEAR the bottom, John, AT the bottom -- 894th out of 899, to be exact. Can you imagine how intellectually hopeless someone has to be to grade out at the very bottom of a class of nearly 900? It would be cruel, but interesting, to review the careers of those who finished 893rd, and 895th, in that class, to get a better idea of the level of intelligence to expect if we put Senator McBottom in the Oval Office.

After eight years of Curious George, you're thinking this is a good strategy? Looks like you're living up to expectations.

[Yohomegirl]

McCain, does the Naval Accademy have a short bus?

[helonias]

Only short sail boats with rubber guns

[JiminNC]

Had he not been connected, they would have kicked his azz out. Someone at 893 or 895 worked like hell to get through that school.

[foolchild0]

you know, maybe he's TOO well educated...did you ever consider that?

[donaldw6]

No.

[JonStewart4President]

Yeah, we should totally elect people who get mediocre to bad grades at academic institutions they could only get into by being related to people who had previously graduated from there and given them money. Yes, that would probably work out much better than getting someone who got everything they got by working hard and being smart.

I mean why would we want hard working smart guys when we could have dumb, lazy rich guys instead? Because the last time we did that, it worked out just wonderfully. So let's do it again with an even dumber guy!

[JiminNC]

What's in a name? Everything in your case.

[foolchild0]

ummmm...SARCASM.

[cindyw]

Yes, your comment forced me to consider that idea, and then immediately dismiss it.

[EarthToZoey]

Hey guys. I just got a Twitter text on my blackberry saying that O will be announcing his VP nomination directly to his supporters first on Twitter and e-mail before going to the media. So, if you're interested in being one of the "firsts" to know, you can go to his site and sign up:

my . b a r a c k o b a m a . com / vp

[confuseddemocrat]

It seems that only in America it is considered to be a disadvantage for a political leader to be able to speak coherently, act intelligently, and attend the best schools and university.

When did ELITE become a profane word? Are the republicans striving to make the USA mediocre?

[freecasey]

I'm right there with you. Somewhere along the way, I guess the Reagan years, the GOP was able to paint itself as the everyman's party, and regardless of the fact it's anything but that, it has been able to ride that wave ever since. As such, it's succeeded in its juvenile "Hey, look at the nerd" assertions. The everyman did not go to private school and Harvard ... and probably grew up stigmatizing the "nerd" to validate him/herself.

[nk007]

Only in Republican group think can a son and grand son of Navy Admirals, who is a multi-millionaire, owns 7 (or is 8) houses, and has never held a real job, be considered an average guy. Whereas, a son raised by a single mother and grand parents, attended schools and colleges on scholarship and student loans, and started his political career as a community organizer in a community hit hard by closing of steel plants and other industries, is the one who is portrayed as an elite. The John McCain Republicans are really cynical. They believe that by repeating lies over and over again the majority of Americans will begin to believe that the lies are not lies but the truth. They also cynically believe that the majority of Americans are so ignorant that they would readily embrace the lies as truth.

[naschkatze]

There's a world of difference between the word "elite" and the word "elitist", but don't expect a Republican to know it.

[pacats]

It is part of the "dumbing down of Americans" strategy. We see it done daily on the cable news networks. 24 hours programing presenting the same talking points throughout the day. No real news or discussions of serious issues. Major topics on any given day could be, " what Bill said, or what Hillary wants, or maybe, McCain gets 50,000 people at biker rally ". Major strategy to keep people uninformed about real news.

[PissedOffProf]

Become a self-educated man, use proper grammar, be admired by millions of former foreign allies...get mocked by the Right Attack Machine as "elitist".

Say slanderous lies about progressive political components, run up enormous debts, kill thousands of innocent people....get elected by Right Wing Bigots as "one of us".

[Xenopus]

From another poster:

A must read........says McCain doesn't have the right stuff for President.
Says he is mostly an opportunist who has accomplished little.

And it is in the Wall Street Journal: Market Watch
by: Rex Nutting
"Why John McCain would be a mediocre president" 8-07-08

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid=%7B4914192B-12AF-4623-AB18-5EFE91204B04%7D&print=true&dist=printMidSection

[CaptainVideo]

Now if only the people running Obama's campaign could write and present material like that Obama would have a huge lead.

The Obama campaign aught to hire this guy.

[nk007]

Finally, Rex Nutting called a spade a spade! This is what Gen. Wesley Clark tried to get across but was viciously attacked and defamed by those in the corporate media who have bought into the McCain myth: "War hero and Maverick." I was very much impressed with Gen. Clark, and was disappointed that Obama did not come out strongly backing the general for telling the truth. Rex Nutting's article must be circulated widely. I intend to share it with my reasonable Republican friends who, though leaning towards voting for McCain, are not very enthusiastic fans of his because of their misgivings about Iraq and their fear that he is likely to start another unnecessary war with Iran.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Ah yes the republican party, where education is deemed optional.

[Dustee]

Touche'