Man of the People
I was sorry to watch, live on CNN, Edward R. Murrow and Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and all around "Man of the People" Jack Cafferty spit on me on his broadcast today.
After decrying the notion of "actors and comedians" running for public office, Cafferty stated, "Baldwin's credentials are questionable... but Franken is no slouch. He's Harvard educated."
So Franken fits the mold for Cafferty because he went to Harvard? What other schools does Cafferty approve of as breeding grounds for office holders in America? What other professions does Cafferty believe should be excluded from holding office?
The material I received from a contingent in Ohio was back in 1996, but Playboy omitted that fact in editing the piece. As for running for office in the future, who knows? I always felt that doing so was a way to serve one's country. But, now that I think about what Cafferty has on his mind, maybe it's a lousy idea. Heck, I only have a BFA in drama from NYU. Perhaps New York University should print on its undergraduate drama degrees "Warning: the bestowing of this degree precludes you from seeking any public office per Jack Cafferty of CNN."
I would like to make a deal with Cafferty. Jack, you don't tell people that a career in the performing arts disqualifies them from seeking elected office, and I won't say publicly that your being convicted of leaving the scene of an accident in which you struck a cyclist and then ran two red lights while you were pursued by the police and were subsequently ordered to serve 70 hours of community service back in May of 2003 disqualifies you from posing as a "Man of the People" on a major cable news network.
Fair enough?
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Another comment - what should disqualify people from running for Congress is not their lack of ivy-league credentials (which has not served us well in the past), but their being "bought" by particular interests.
Cafferty is usually a voice of reality, but CNN has become the voice of the Republican Party. Does anyone else notice that every issue is framed the way the Republican spin frames it? Where are the real journalists these days? All we have is poseurs. So in a world of faux journalists, what is wrong with hearing from intelligent observers no matter what their calling in life?
Yes, I stopped watching CNN a few years ago. Journalism is, sadly, a dying art in media today. Republican's have bought the news. My loss and your loss and America's loss.
PBS, BBC, and MSNBC are much more reliable. Other than Amanpour, who on CNN is worth watching?
Ouch! Shame this little fued is because I love Cafferty and I love Alec. C'mon guys, shake hands and make up. Please, for me. :)
I think maybe we should ban the Harvard and Yale elitists ---they only serve the corporate world and Wall Street anyway ---- though they do a good job of pretending otherwise.
George W. Bush had a Harvard degree. QED.
....and Yale.
AND HIS M.O. WAS, I'M JUST A DUMB OLE COUNTRY BOY, JUST LIKE PALIN. THEY WERE COACHED TO PRETEND THAT. THE DUMB PART JUST HAPPENED TO BE TRUE. I'LL TAKE BRAINS OVER FAKE, LYING DECEITFUL CROOKS ANY DAY
If his father were not among the uber wealthy and powerful, would he not have flunked out?
I hate to see two of the good guys squabbling.
Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that one needs a Harvard education in order to run for office. Senators and Representatives are supposed to represent their constituents. They can come from all walks of life. Their education should not matter -- just their ability to reason, be practical and to advocate for their state. The GOP is highly reveres President Reagan. I don't remember any of them saying that he couldn't run for President because he'd been an actor, do you?
Don't have my my degree yet, but I can still name ten U.S. Presidents who couldn't do the job as well as I could.....
Barack Obama..B. Clinton..J
try again and this time remove the partisan blinders.
you wish
While we may disagree on many policy issues...
From NYU Class of '99, you brought the smackdown in this article.
Some are educated in the finest institutions and some of them need to be committed to them
Class!
All right, all right. Cafferty is wrong on this in my opinion, but he simply expressed his opinion. But you are going to have to learn not to be so thin-skinned. Politics ain't for the sensitive.
This is the reason we need actors, comedians, garbage men, nurses and landscapers as "politicians" because they have way more common sense and they are NOT your typical politician. Run, Alec, Run. You are a citizen and you pay taxes, therefore you have every right to run!
Like everyone Jack Cafferty has an agenda as does Mr. B.
If Alec Baldwin wants to run for office ...great we the voters will decide his future not Cafferty and Jack best be aware we can decide his future with a flip of the dial or a stroke of the keyboard.
Dear Alec,
My viewpoints tend to be more conservative than yours but I appreciate the way that you cut to the heart of an issue and identify the hypocrisy which is rampant on all sides. I think you would make a fine candidate for office and given your success might be less corruptible than most. Another advantage is that you have already been vetted (dissected!) by the media. If you don't choose to run, I hope you will continue to share your observations with the rest of us. Best of Luck!
Um...wasn'
I went to a fine, accredited school, though it wasn't at all one of the supposedly 'superior' institutions. I'm very proud of the education I received and gleaned from my professors and the experience. I've met people from 'better' schools who couldn't put a coherent thought together with two hands and a flashlight.
Education, no matter what your alma mater, is worth only the effort and dedication you put into it. You put in nothing, you get nothing. Shrub is a perfect example, in my opinion. So shut up, Cafferty, or run for office yourself. I think you might find it a real eye-opener.
I agree. I was going to post a similar message regarding my own education that didn't come from one of our esteemed ivy-league institutions, but you said it for me. Let me add that any day of the week, I would willingly pit my intellect/
Not to say that all Ivy Leaguers are idiots--a majority of them are exceptionally intelligent, and were either lucky enough to get scholarships, work their butts off for tuition, or had the money to attend such institutions. But I agree with you; I'm quite confident that I could hold my own and then some with a number of the nitwits who had the money but not the brains to redeem themselves. Maybe there should be a game show - Ivy League Brats against State College Stalwarts.
YALE! For godsake, he went to YALE! Undergrad, anyway, which is mostly what counts.
Proud Harvard alumnus here. And amused at all the "we don't need no stinkin' Harvard grads" comments here, obviously all from rejected low-wattage applicants licking their wounds.
Though I am really, really embarrassed about Vitter. Sorry about that one.
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