<p>Can't remember if Sarum ever passed me the bong!!!</p>
<p>^Exactly, mpicz. And to bring back a word that was used earlier by pan1956, he got in by meritocratic means, as opposed to Bush's Plutocratic/aristocratic means.</p>
<p>I wasn't taking a side...I just wanted to throw that out.</p>
<p>From Wikipedia:</p>
<p>At Harvard Law School, Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude, which, according to the Havard Law School website, is awarded to the top 10% of Harvard Law School students.</p>
<p>Could we all just see his grades at Occidental and Columbia?
Of course he was MCL at Harvard, we all know that. Do we know what he got as an undergraduate? It is possible he got in on neither Meritocratic(unless you call nailing the interview meritocratic) means nor Plut/Aris means but affirmative action with mediocre grades but the right skin du jour and a great interview. There is nothing wrong with getting into Occidental with mediocre grades, and then Columbia with mediocre grades, and then being the US President, is there?</p>
<p>On his application to Harvard Law School, he reportedly did not identify his race. And what relevant information about his current ability to be President of the United States do you hope to glean from his undergraduate grades? You can judge his performance everyday and his undergraduate grades do not matter. I have never had a prospective employer ask from my undergraduate transcript.</p>
<p>Just wondering why undergraduate grades have been an issue recently in judging US Presidents, and for O we never saw any? I would like to have a peek.
Personally, I judge US president over the long term, and then 10-20 years after they have left office. Judging them everyday is a bit subjective, I leave that to the political spinners and pundits.
One doesn't need to identify race on a Harvard Post grad application. You need an interview where race is evident.</p>
<p>Harvard Law requiring an interview? I don't think so, at least I don't remember that being a part of the process in the 90's. Also, remember Obama is a legacy at Harvard, his dad attended.</p>
<p>Obama had an Harvard interview, I saw some a reference to it early in his Pres race, he mentions it. I didn't know his dad was a legacy, would that be an Undergraduate or Post Grad legacy? Do you know if Harvard keeps records of an attendees race? I would believe so because they have to have to keep records of percentages of ethnic groups at the school.
I would like to have a peek at his undergraduate grades.
There is nothing wrong with the affirmative action of the 70's, 80's & 90's. It was necessary to get us to where we are now.</p>
<p>His name is BARACK OBAMA
he didn't need to identify race</p>
<p>um so your telling me you know his dad is from Kenya just by hearing Barack Obama? Crazy freaking people...</p>
<p>^Haha yeah. Kind of like the idiots who said he was Islamic because of his middle name.</p>
<p>they'd still know that he was not white (not definitely but like 99%)</p>
<p>Principalviola, not that it MAKES THE LEAST BIT OF DIFFERENCE, but there are a lot of Muslims in his background. His dad was one. Again, it makes not one bit of difference to me. "Dreams From My Father" discusses all that. Barack Obama Sr was Muslim. So your conclusion was correct.</p>
<p>I'm glad it doesn't make a difference to you! I had a sub par day at school today, regarding my religion... People are so stupid though. He said he was a Christian... First all these *******s (not talking about anyone here:)) decide "hey, let's convert some people" and now, when they say they are Christian, people are all "omg, w t f". I wish people would take people at face value, ESPECIALLY when they are better than you. (I guess people have a hard time admitting Obama is better and more impt than them). </p>
<p>Sorry if I came out as crude, in terms of race/religion, today was not the best of days.
Not to digress, but due to religion so many people have died. It is mind sickening.</p>
<p>Barack Obama went to a prep school in Hawaii, where his average was reportedly b/b-, then to Occidental, then to Columbia, where he did not get grades high enough to get an Honors diploma in Political Science, then to Harvard, where his dad was a legacy, upon a recommendation of Percy Sutton, a real old world gentleman, lawyer to Malcom X and a political power base in NYC at the time (with lots of speaking engagements at Harvard). Meritocracy or Aristocracy? (ps this is not a reflection on him as president, just a reminder that he didnt one day wake up in a poor place and get into Harvard)</p>
<p>I think, of most of the presidents, Obama is the most meritocratic, followed by Clinton. His legacy is no where close to what dear GW had pulled.</p>
<p>PV, it is indisputable that he made it based on his extraordinary intellectual and interpersonal skills. But he is not the "most meritocratic" of our presidents. Although they were not wealthy, both his parents were intensely oriented toward education and well educated themselves: his father a Harvard-educated Kenyan technocrat and his mother an anthropologist. Richard Nixon, however much we may not like him, is a better illustration of our meritocratic system: his parents were dirt poor and uneducated.</p>
<p>I guess I can concede to that. He, however, is in no way plutocratically or aristocratically advantaged. Clinton was probably one of the more meritocratic ones...</p>
<p>Talking about Nixon, have you seen Frost/Nixon?</p>
<p>You guys didn't go farther back than Nixon? How about "Honest Abe"? The President whom Obama thinks/wishes we should liken him to the most.
Question: Does Obama get more mileage out of the populous and press coming off as a meritorious achiever or appearing as a guy that had some very good connections, some speaking skills and the luck of being Irish in a very pro Irish academic system?</p>