Mic e Obama's thesis, but not Barack's

[ChumpDumper]

You know what you call a guy who graduates last in his medical school class?



Doctor.



You guys can tell me what an easy time you had at Harvard Law, and I'll accept your attempt to downplay Obama's academic career.

[Mr. Peabody]

Pretty interesting NYT article on Obama's election to Harvard Law Review.

I didn't realize that it used to go to the student with the best grades, up until the 1970's. They don't even RANK their law students anymore. Wow.


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...51C0A966958260

He graduated magna laude from Harvard Law, so I doubt his credentials were an issue.

[RandomGuy]

He is going to be OUR employee. Would you not ask to see a potential employee's transcripts?

Which is why I would like to see McCain's.

Seriously though, I am sure they are out there.

[1369]

Which is why I would like to see McCain's.

Seriously though, I am sure they are out there.

Aren't they already accessible since he went to a service academy? I've seen it thrown around (can't remember the exact number) that he graduated "X" out of "X" in his class at Navy. And then I'm pretty sure there is something on his service records. Wasn't there some dust up a while back about his command of a maintenance squadron or something?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

and I'll accept your attempt to downplay Obama's academic career.

it's hard to comment when his columbia transcripts are locked up at fort knox.

[ChumpDumper]

it's hard to comment when his columbia transcripts are locked up at fort knox.

What exactly do you want to know?

What information contained inside a 20+ year-old undergraduate transcript would have an effect on your vote?

Be specific.

[Mr. Peabody]

it's hard to comment when his columbia transcripts are locked up at fort knox.

Yes, it is hard to note someone's academic achievement when they graduate from an Ivy League School, become president of Harvard Law Review and then, graduate magna laude.

BTW, Chief Justice John Roberts, who was lauded by the right as having a brilliant legal mind and impeccable credentials, graduated magna laude from Harvard Law and was managing editor of Harvard Law Review.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

What exactly do you want to know?

What information contained inside a 20+ year-old undergraduate transcript would have an effect on your vote?

Be specific.

the only thing that gets to me is the secrecy and his "oh no you got me" stance on everything. what is there to hide. it could be filled with grades that would make you scratch your head as to how he got into harvard. we'll never know that. at least not now.

[Mr. Peabody]

This is from The Weekly Standard. News Corp and Bill Kristol's mag. Even they acknowledge that Obama was an exceptional student at Harvard even though they go on to slam his campaign operation (who would have thought he'd be in this position last November).

The Real Barack Obama
Missing in action.
by Dean Barnett
11/06/2007 12:00:00 AM
Weekly Standard

IN MY PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL life, I had reason to be in contact with dozens of Barack Obama's classmates at Harvard Law School. When he entered the presidential race, I dusted off my Rolodex and began making some calls to get the off-the-record skinny on the Democrats' potential savior.

The results surprised me. Regardless of his classmates' politics, they all said pretty much the same thing. They adored him. The only thing that varied was the intensity with which they adored him. Some spoke like they were eager to bear his children. And those were the guys. Others merely professed a profound fondness and respect for their former classmate.

Even more interesting was what wasn't said. In dozens of conversations, not a single person said anything negative about him, and some were hardly the senator's political fellow travelers. Also noteworthy is that virtually everyone seemed to know Obama. Usually people who have such a high profile on law school campuses have their detractors. Obama apparently didn't.

This general at ude regarding Obama is even more remarkable given how well he performed at Harvard Law School. Obama graduated there in 1991. As many people know, he was president of the Harvard Law Review. This accomplishment, for those who know how such things work, was easy to minimize. Generally, you earned admission to the Law Review because of a distinguished academic performance in your first year. But there were some members who got on the Law Review because they wrote good essays as part of their application process and in spite of mediocre grades. A notable subset of this latter category was minority students; a politically correct ins ution, the Law Review cared about diversity in its ranks.

This was an unacknowledged form of affirmative action, but just because the Law Review didn't acknowledge it didn't mean law firms would follow suit. Membership on the Law Review basically meant that you were one of Harvard's smartest students. Unless you got there for some reason other than your grades. In those cases, hiring authorities would usually dismiss your Law Review membership, although they would never admit to doing so.

The only reason I bring this barely relevant history up is to show what a stud of a law student Barack Obama was. He graduated Harvard magna laude. This was one honor you unquestionably had to earn. It's a very impressive feat. Back in Obama's days at Harvard, more than 50 percent of the class graduated laude, a fact that made graduating "with honors" a meaningless accomplishment. But graduating magna was a different kettle of fish. Barack Obama graduated right near the top of his law school class.

That fact, along with his presidency of the Law Review, makes his uniform popularity all the more impressive. Law schools are intensely compe ive places. People who thrive to an unseemly extent, as Obama did, are usually subject to an array of resentments. After all, the lawyers of tomorrow populate law schools; pettiness and insecurity reign supreme.

[Oh, Gee!!]

sounds like a cool dude

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Yes, it is hard to note someone's academic achievement when they graduate from an Ivy League School, become president of Harvard Law Review and then, graduate magna laude.

BTW, Chief Justice John Roberts, who was lauded by the right as having a brilliant legal mind and impeccable credentials, graduated magna laude from Harvard Law and was managing editor of Harvard Law Review.

i never implied here or anywhere that obamessiah was stupid. it looks like both him and justice roberts followed a similar path. i wonder if you can get justice roberts transcripts.

[Oh, Gee!!]

i wonder if you can get justice roberts transcripts.

I care more about his opinions

[ChumpDumper]

the only thing that gets to me is the secrecy and his "oh no you got me" stance on everything. what is there to hide. it could be filled with grades that would make you scratch your head as to how he got into harvard. we'll never know that. at least not now.

So, basically you wouldn't find anything and are just ing about this because the Ayers and secret Muslim canards failed miserably.

And he did quite well at Harvard -- without any doubt -- so why would you even try to question their selection process now?

This is pretty sad.

[Mr. Peabody]

the only thing that gets to me is the secrecy and his "oh no you got me" stance on everything. what is there to hide. it could be filled with grades that would make you scratch your head as to how he got into harvard. we'll never know that. at least not now.

The presidential hopeful graduated magna laude from the Law School in 1991; his wife earned the degree three years earlier.

But the senator was still outstanding in his own right—“brilliant, charismatic, and focused,” said Wilkins, the Kirkland and Ellis professor of law. The two forged a relationship after Obama became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.

Obama announced the creation of an exploratory committee Tuesday, effectively launching his bid for the presidency, but he revealed his decision to his closest supporters in a conference call days earlier.

“He talked about how the timing was not exactly what he himself expected, but with a tremendous response from the nation, that this is an important moment and a great opportunity to step forward,” Wilkins said.

Loeb University Professor Laurence H. Tribe ’62, who taught Obama and employed him as a research assistant, remembers him as a “brilliant, personable, and obviously unique” person. Tribe said that Obama’s theoretical perspective on applying modern physics to law was “very impressive.”

“He is obviously a serious intellectual as well as a fantastic campaigner who can reach across boundaries,” Tribe said. “He will make an extraordinarily fine president.”

When two professors at Harvard Law are referring to you as brilliant and a serious intellectual, I would say there's a pretty good chance that you deserved to be enrolled at Harvard.

[Oh, Gee!!]

oh, this laurence tribe is praising obama's intellect?

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

Do you wanna see his transcripts too, VLE?

[balli]

I'd like to see some of the great educational works of one Sarah Palin. Surely Idaho State Community College has a paper record of her brilliant writings. I'm su ious that we can't see it.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

So, basically you wouldn't find anything and are just ing about this because the Ayers and secret Muslim canards failed miserably.

And he did quite well at Harvard -- without any doubt -- so why would you even try to question their selection process now?

This is pretty sad.

i just don't see what all the secrecy is about. if you wanna take him, or anybody for that matter, at face value then that's your choice.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

I'd like to see some of the great educational works of one Sarah Palin. Surely Idaho State Community College has a paper record of her brilliant writings. I'm su ious that we can't see it.

then request it if you can. let's see. i wouldn't mind seeing her grades. uh, one thing though. i thought she left idaho when she was an infant, Mr Biden

[Mr. Peabody]

From NYT's David Brooks...

April 26, 2007
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Obama, Gospel and Verse

By DAVID BROOKS
Sometimes you take a shot.

Yesterday evening I was interviewing Barack Obama and we were talking about effective foreign aid programs in Africa. His voice was measured and fatigued, and he was taking those little pauses candidates take when they’re afraid of saying something that might hurt them later on.

Out of the blue I asked, “Have you ever read Reinhold Niebuhr?”

Obama’s tone changed. “I love him. He’s one of my favorite philosophers.”

So I asked, What do you take away from him?

“I take away,” Obama answered in a rush of words, “the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away ... the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naïve idealism to bitter realism.”

My first impression was that for a guy who’s spent the last few months fund-raising, and who was walking off the Senate floor as he spoke, that’s a pretty good off-the-cuff summary of Niebuhr’s “The Irony of American History.” My second impression is that his campaign is an attempt to thread the Niebuhrian needle, and it’s really interesting to watch.

The guy is riffing on Reinhold Niebuhr because of a spontaneous question by a reporter. How many politicians can pull that off? How many politicians would even know who Reinhold Niebuhr was, much less be able to summarize the tenets of his philosophy?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

When two professors at Harvard Law are referring to you as brilliant and a serious intellectual, I would say there's a pretty good chance that you deserved to be enrolled at Harvard.

i don't doubt their endorsement of him. he graduated top of his class. i don't think that is the point of this thread. that's out in the open. his record of columbia is not.

[DarrinS]

You know what you call a guy who graduates last in his medical school class?



Doctor.



You guys can tell me what an easy time you had at Harvard Law, and I'll accept your attempt to downplay Obama's academic career.

I'm not interested in finding grammatical errors, I'm interested in his ideas.

[ChumpDumper]

i just don't see what all the secrecy is about. if you wanna take him, or anybody for that matter, at face value then that's your choice.

Again, why specifically do you want to see the transcript?

Have you seen McCain's Naval Academy transcript? I didn't see any links to it on the timeline on his website.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm not interested in finding grammatical errors, I'm interested in his ideas.

I'm interested in finding McCain's Naval Academy transcript and papers.

Give me a link to those. I'm sure you in your interest in his ideas, you found those long ago and there's no way at all you would be propagating a double standard.

[DarrinS]

I'm interested in finding McCain's Naval Academy transcript and papers.

Give me a link to those. I'm sure you in your interest in his ideas, you found those long ago and there's no way at all you would be propagating a double standard.

He actually jokes that he graduated 894 out of 899, so I don't think he's hiding anything.

[ChumpDumper]

You guys couldn't be more disingenuous.