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Should a candidate running for POTUS at least have a Bachelor Degree? (Original Post) onecaliberal Jul 2015 OP
It's a big plus but... El Supremo Jul 2015 #1
The world is very different now. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #5
YES madamvlb Jul 2015 #2
I'd prefer it. Agschmid Jul 2015 #3
Yes. we can do it Jul 2015 #4
It's up to whomever wants to vote for the candidate jberryhill Jul 2015 #6
I know what the requirements are, that was not my question. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #7
Anything else is just an opinion jberryhill Jul 2015 #9
Hate and greed are taught at home for the most part, not college. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #15
Let me give you my perspective... cherokeeprogressive Jul 2015 #29
Not according to the Consntitution. Agnosticsherbet Jul 2015 #8
That's why I ask. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #11
That is why you do not do the job alone Duckhunter935 Jul 2015 #18
Amending the Constitution is difficult, and the anger against college educated elites Agnosticsherbet Jul 2015 #24
No Duckhunter935 Jul 2015 #10
I do not agree. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #13
That's fine Duckhunter935 Jul 2015 #16
Agreed. I wanted to see how everyone felt about it. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #20
Message auto-removed Name removed Jul 2015 #12
Yes, just look at Bush part 2 Duckhunter935 Jul 2015 #21
Maybe not...but likely all future candidates would have attended college. Sancho Jul 2015 #14
This topic is likely inspired by Scott Walker, who never finished college. tritsofme Jul 2015 #25
We don't know why he dropped out so close to graduation. murielm99 Jul 2015 #37
Look at Bill Gates dem in texas Jul 2015 #17
George W had one. Didn't seem to do him much good . . . Journeyman Jul 2015 #19
W bought his, just saying. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #22
JD and executive experience as mayor and governor. elleng Jul 2015 #23
nope. Warren Stupidity Jul 2015 #26
yes Lil Missy Jul 2015 #27
It disqualifies Walker HassleCat Jul 2015 #28
People like him who want to be POTUS onecaliberal Jul 2015 #31
Yes. There is no substitute for a good education. pugetres Jul 2015 #30
Yes. A university degree proves that a person has some capacity for complex thought. MADem Jul 2015 #32
No A Little Weird Jul 2015 #33
No I am 67 years old and some of the dumbest people I have doc03 Jul 2015 #34
No. SamKnause Jul 2015 #35
I stated my opinion about w's degree up thread. onecaliberal Jul 2015 #36
Having a degree can be a plus, but not having one isn't a disqualifier. BillZBubb Jul 2015 #38
Think of Truman. Nope. 840high Jul 2015 #39
i would like it, restorefreedom Jul 2015 #40
Not having a degree worked out ok for John Majors... HereSince1628 Jul 2015 #41
No. kenfrequed Jul 2015 #42
George W. Bush has a Masters Degree and Le Taz Hot Jul 2015 #43
 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
6. It's up to whomever wants to vote for the candidate
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 09:28 PM
Jul 2015

A candidate running for POTUS needs to be:

1. At least 35 years old as of January 20th the next year;

2. Born a citizen; and

3. 14 years a resident.

That's it. Nail those three and you are qualified.
 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
9. Anything else is just an opinion
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 09:30 PM
Jul 2015

I'm sure there are people who would prefer the candidate not have one.

The majority of people in this country don't have one. Of those people, I'll bet a lot of them are pretty sure that whomever screwed them over the most in life had a college degree.

onecaliberal

(32,471 posts)
15. Hate and greed are taught at home for the most part, not college.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 09:38 PM
Jul 2015

I was obviously asking for opinion.

 

cherokeeprogressive

(24,853 posts)
29. Let me give you my perspective...
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:30 PM
Jul 2015

What's the percentage of people working in bureaucratic government positions (elected and/or appointed) who have college degrees at the moment? I'd bet it's in the high nineties.

Is there any place in the world that someone went to and said "I think we'll have no government here..."? Nnnnope. Everywhere humans have gone and colonized there was shortly thereafter a means devised for humans controlling other humans.

For thousands of years, everywhere there's been enough people to have a majority, humans have been controlling other humans in one way or another. I'd say for the last several hundred, most of those humans had college degrees. Most like high ninety percentage points most.

The world is a very fucked up place in spite of humans controlling humans by means of "government" for oh, a thousand years?

Nope. A college degree doesn't seem to help one way or the other.

Agnosticsherbet

(11,619 posts)
8. Not according to the Consntitution.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 09:29 PM
Jul 2015

As a voter, I want a better educated candidate. The time when a candidate can be self educated, like a Lincoln, is long past.

onecaliberal

(32,471 posts)
11. That's why I ask.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 09:32 PM
Jul 2015

The world is much different, far more complicated. There are those of us doing jobs with FAR less complication where that degree is required. The founders couldn't imagine the world we currently live in.

Agnosticsherbet

(11,619 posts)
24. Amending the Constitution is difficult, and the anger against college educated elites
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:11 PM
Jul 2015

is very pronounced, especially on the right.

Thee is simply nothing we can do about this except insist that individual voters hold candidates to a higher standard.

Hell, Bush was a C student who many believed was allowed to pass because his family donated money to the University. The truth, of course, is even a College education doesn't mean much.

Bush Graduated from Harvard but was a legacy student whose family have buildings named after them.

Response to onecaliberal (Original post)

Sancho

(9,065 posts)
14. Maybe not...but likely all future candidates would have attended college.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 09:36 PM
Jul 2015

There are certainly people who could run reasonably without a degree - for example Bill Gates. I could see someone with experience and judgement that was good enough to run, and they may have obtained an "education" without a formal college degree.

tritsofme

(17,320 posts)
25. This topic is likely inspired by Scott Walker, who never finished college.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:20 PM
Jul 2015

As to the OP, I very much doubt I would personally support a presidential candidate that was not a college graduate, but I don't think attacking Walker on this point will be very effective, there is plenty more to criticize him on.

murielm99

(30,655 posts)
37. We don't know why he dropped out so close to graduation.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 11:40 PM
Jul 2015

Is this a forbidden area of discussion? Someone should do some investigating.

Was he in trouble over something? Was he given a chance to withdraw instead of facing expulsion? Were his grades so poor that he had no hope of graduating?

If everyone else's life is going under the microscope, that should happen to his life, too.

 

HassleCat

(6,409 posts)
28. It disqualifies Walker
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:30 PM
Jul 2015

Not the lack of a degree, but the fact he went to college four years and didn't finish. He was a C+ student, doesn't seem to remember much about his course work, and was just marking time until he figured out right wing politics would be a perfect fit for his carnival barker personality. People who are all ambition and no substance bother me, and Walker is a prime example.

onecaliberal

(32,471 posts)
31. People like him who want to be POTUS
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:34 PM
Jul 2015

Truly clueless people in my opinion should not be considered. Look at what happened with W. Not so bright, almost brought don the entire world economy.

 

pugetres

(507 posts)
30. Yes. There is no substitute for a good education.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:31 PM
Jul 2015

Life experience is something that everyone in the world obtains regardless of their education level. But, I value a person who makes plans and goals and works hard to achieve them. Committing yourself to a college program is a good thing. And, yes, I do know that not everyone ends up working in an area that is reflected in their college degree. I still can appreciate the hard work that went into getting a degree.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
32. Yes. A university degree proves that a person has some capacity for complex thought.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:34 PM
Jul 2015

Granted, there exist people without degrees who also have this capacity, but the sheepskin--unless you're a pro athlete who has been given passing grades in an Underwater Basket Weaving major--is a method of proving this.

It means you can at least THINK a wee bit.

A Little Weird

(1,754 posts)
33. No
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:34 PM
Jul 2015

It would not be a deciding factor for me but I would consider it a negative if a candidate did not have a degree. But still I don't think the requirements should change.

doc03

(35,143 posts)
34. No I am 67 years old and some of the dumbest people I have
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 10:41 PM
Jul 2015

ever known have a Bachelor Degree or more. My dad was a electrician and only a high school graduate but he had Electrical Engineers
calling him for help with electrical problems. One way we could get even with some of those overeducated eggheads in the mill was do exactly what they told us to do. Some things you can't learn in a classroom.

SamKnause

(13,037 posts)
35. No.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 11:04 PM
Jul 2015

I prefer a candidate that has common sense.

Many college educated people have zero common sense.

I don't want a candidate that got his/her college degree

from a 'Christian college'.

If college was free, I may have a different opinion.

As it is, the rich can have mommy and daddy buy

their diplomas for them.

Bush had a college education.

Do you seriously think he earned his diploma ???

He could not even speak in coherent sentences.

He made up words because he did not know the real

words to express his opinion.

A piece of paper does not make one intelligent.

BillZBubb

(10,650 posts)
38. Having a degree can be a plus, but not having one isn't a disqualifier.
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 11:56 PM
Jul 2015

College is wasted on a lot of people, so having a degree doesn't always indicate any superior ability.

restorefreedom

(12,655 posts)
40. i would like it,
Tue Jul 14, 2015, 12:19 AM
Jul 2015

but I don't see any pathway by which we could make it a requirement. Besides, there was W.

HereSince1628

(36,063 posts)
41. Not having a degree worked out ok for John Majors...
Tue Jul 14, 2015, 08:14 AM
Jul 2015

because he mastered aping Thatcherite ideology.

Scott Walker will do ok among republicans. Walker has mastered the aping of Koch's extreme economic libertarianism and his moral majority approach conforms to the expectations of the mega-church rather than the revival tent.

kenfrequed

(7,865 posts)
42. No.
Tue Jul 14, 2015, 08:18 AM
Jul 2015

This is a democracy. The people can elect any damned fool they like. Should voters develop their own criteria about who they will vote for and demand better thinkers and more education? Probably.

Personally, I think policy should be the end-all be-all in terms of how you choose who you vote for. There are many people with advanced degrees in business or law degrees that are complete sociopaths and should not be elected as dog catchers.

Le Taz Hot

(22,271 posts)
43. George W. Bush has a Masters Degree and
Tue Jul 14, 2015, 08:19 AM
Jul 2015

Lincoln didn't have a formal education. What does that tell you about higher education?

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