Earlier this week White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to a question about the release of President Obama's college transcript:
"This is the Donald Trump question... It is preposterous, this is from the guy who insisted that he didn't believe the president was born in the United States."
There are times, however, when even ill-intended or even conspiracy leaning egotists have a point. Such is the case of those, including many disappointed or disbelieving birthers, who have shifted their focus to demanding the release of President Obama's college and law school transcripts. Mitt Romney, who initially hesitated on releasing his tax returns, has apparently released his transcripts. Hopefully, his vice president will as well. Such transcripts, like tax returns and medical records, and some criminal records, are private by law unless voluntarily waived. American voters, however, notwithstanding the motives of some advocates, have an overriding interest in transparency for objective, even old, information about the formative adult years of those seeking the highest office in the nation. I would add that it would serve the public interest if in addition, Supreme Court nominees as well as congressional and other candidates did the same. Why is it that so many positions of far less import, in both the public and private sector, with far smaller constituencies often call for the presentation of a transcript, but not the most sensitive job in the world?
It is a testament to our nation that included among our most noteworthy founders were some of the greatest thinkers the world has ever known. And among their most significant contributions to our fledgling society was the establishment of universities to create an educated citizenry to serve the public good. The founding of a public university was so important to Thomas Jefferson's legacy that he mandated its placement on his epitaph:
Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of the Declaration of American Independence Of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom & Father of the University of Virginia.
Similarly, Ben Franklin, founder of what is now the University of Pennsylvania, sought in 1749 to create an institution to prepare the area's youth for, among other things, citizenship:
The idea of what is true merit, should also be often presented to youth, explain'd and impress'd on their minds, as consisting in an Inclination join'd with an Ability to serve Mankind, one's Country, Friends and Family... which Ability should be the great Aim and End of all Learning.
While there are certainly plausible reasons to keep personal information about public figures private, in this case disclosure serves compelling purposes. It fills in an informational void about a candidate's educational exposure, inclinations and performance. It also sends a message to those now in college, that their efforts are recognized. Society, as the founders intended, should put a high degree of importance on education as an important building block for citizenship itself. It also gives the voter an idea of what basic knowledge the candidate may have in areas they consider relevant to presidential service. Such classes need not only be directly "pre-professional" courses like accounting, economics, or international relations or a foreign language, but others that make a person connected to the greater world around them, like literature, art and history.
To be sure, there are millions of people who serve the country or achieve success for themselves and their community in a variety of ways without a college degree at all. Admittedly, in an increasingly information-based society one's job prospects without such a degree are decidedly more tenuous than they were in previous decades. The point of this blog post is not to argue for some minimum requirement for presidential service, as the Constitution merely sets native born citizenship and a minimum age of 35.
There are billionaires like Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs who never obtained degrees. Two of our most beloved leaders, Abraham Lincoln and Harry S. Truman, never earned degrees, although I don't think that, barring some extraordinary credential, a non-degreed candidate would be electable today. It used to be that military service was considered a critical prerequisite for high office to much of the electorate. Over the last two decades service in a field of active conflict has not been as pivotal as decorated veterans like Senators Dole, Kerry, and McCain and President George H.W. Bush might have hoped. However, when there is an important thread to a person's life, be it military service or education, that becomes a key part of the tapestry of their public narrative and the candidate should be forthcoming about it.
President Obama, with degrees from Columbia and Harvard, has an extraordinary record of academic achievement. He should establish a clear standard for himself, as well as for future candidates and contemporary students, that one's scholastic efforts mean something, not just for getting a credential, but for being a descriptive part of the narrative of who they are for years to come. With all the sometimes dubious information swirling around about the candidates, their college and grad school grades are something the public should be trusted with. There are few areas where educators like myself, the Daily Kos and the Wall Street Journal agree -- releasing these transcripts is one of them.
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How many other President do you know that were asked for the college transcripts.
Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude, which, according to the Harvard Law School website, is awarded to the top 10% of the school's students. He was also elected President of the Law Review.
You ask about President Obama's college records and transcripts, but I have yet to hear of Romney having released his college records and transcripts. In fact I read that no President has ever released their college records(President Bush's were realeased against his will by someone who was not authorized to do so). Do you have a link to Romney's college records or those of any of first 42 U.S. Presidents?
We know President Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law School and that he was president of the Harvard Law review.
Obama has released 12 years of his federal tax returns. Why can't Romney do the same? We already know he is worth at least 200 million dollars, that he has accounts in the Cayman Islands and that he had a Swiss bank account. So how could releasing his federal tax returns possible hurt him unless he is trying to keep something from the voters? As a voter and a tax payer I want to know!
And Romney, Forget McCain and his 2 years -- he lost. Let's see 5 years of those tax returns... that would match Michael Dukakis for the least tax returns turned over by a Democratic Presidential candidate in the last 30 years.
As for Reid and Pelosi -- Let's see your tax returns too since you place such high value on transparency and you both seem to have gotten pretty rich over the course of your careers in Washington. Where did all that moolah come from?
And not just any student can become President of the Harvard Law Review, (which is also on record) one has to be at the very top of the class, and his class just happened to be Harvard which only accepts the academic cream of the crop of to begin with.
The baggers just aren't happy unless there is something to whine about.
When I interviewed my first employer and related this they offered me a job on the spot even though my grades weren't that great.
Every college graduate has a different story and the transcript doesn't tell it. See what they do the first ten years out of school. College is preparation, not participation. As an engineer--and I suspect other fields are similar--some of the brightest students I ever worked with were among the best team members and vice versa. One of the best engineers I ever worked with--a holder of many patents--was a high school drop out who got his training in a Navy electronics technical school, then went to work in a computer research lab.
Let's concentrate on what's important... the last twenty years of one's career.
Curious statement. I held public office....with a degree in compsci. Completely useless when it comes to developing public policy. From the path my career has taken, my degree and a dancing pop can are two most useless items I own. Other than some in academia sticking their noses in the air in the voting booth, I don't think it's the pre-requisite you think it is.
And you'll forgive me if my 'higher standard' isn't a piece of paper.