From the (appropriately named in this instance)
Daily Beast:
“Even among state representatives, even among Texas Aggies (graduates of this cute remedial school we have in Texas), Perry stood out for his modest intellectual gifts. Hell, he got a C in animal breeding. I have goats who got an A in that subject.”
Since I’m all for civility, I’d probably disapprove if I weren’t laughing so hard. After all there are lots of places weaker than Texas A&M. Sarah Palin alone attended at least five of them.
The rest of the story is more substantive, and pretty damned devastating.
In his endorsement of him, Phil Gramm says Perry was his student at A & M. Perry only took one economics class, and got a D in it. Evidently from Gramm.
Which is hard to judge; anybody who got an ‘A’ in econ from Gramm should probably just be thrown in prison on general principles.
George W. Bush is sufficient proof that one needn’t be highly intelligent to be succeed as a politician. If anything, it’s a handicap to come across as being smarter than thou.
Hmm. I’m not sure whether getting a D from Phil Gramm is a really bad sign or a glimmer of hope.
Begala went Texas (says Wikipedia), so I guess we take the dig at Aggies as a bit of teasing between state rivals, but still:
Can liberals please stop making fun of where people went to college? Seriously: cut it out. It’s:
a.) bad politics. You know who didn’t go to an elite college? 80% of voters.
b.) the opposite of our values. At least I hope so.
c.) beside the point. Exhibit A: George W. Bush, Yale ’68.
Can liberals please stop making fun of where people went to college? Seriously: cut it out.
I agree. It’s another example of the party gong neoliberal and forgetting its foundation in FDR’s New Deal.
One of the most stunning articles on this process:
n+1: Obama and the Closing of the American Dream
http://nplusonemag.com/obama
Before Brett gets to it, I should remind this thread that W’s grades at Yale were roughly comparable to Gore’s grades at Harvard. (IIRC, Bush had slightly higher SATs.) Furthermore, Ivy League schools believe that their admissions committees never make a mistake, so even a mediocre Ivy student can get a degree by doing zilch work.
That being said, Perry’s grades at A&M were really bad. I don’t think that one has to be a great intellect to be a good President. Remember Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.’s quip on Roosevelt: “Second-rate intellect; first-rate disposition.” And I admit that we’ve had some very bright people who have been lousy presidents Madison and Nixon come to mind. (I think Carter was badly underrated, but ymmv.) But there is a lower limit somewhere. If you can’t assimilate a briefing, you’re not qualified for the job.
And Perry may be under this limit. In which case, no amount of disposition would make him competent.