When applying for a job, the first criteria listed by a potential employer is your education. If you don't meet the minimum standards for the job, don't bother applying. If someone is applying for a marketing position and has a degree in education, that should raise a red flag. If that person doesn't possess the basic fundamental knowledge of a particular job field, then what could possibly qualify him/her for that particular job?
Only if a person has sufficient applicable job experience in the appropriate field should they be considered a candidate.
Sarah Palin has a BS in Communications-Journalism with a minor in Political Science. Is she serious? No offense to the hundreds of journalists that write on the Huff Post, but in what way do the basics of communication or journalism apply to making Presidential decisions? I'm going over the educational qualifications of the last few VPs and Presidents and this is, by far, the weakest Vice Presidential candidate in modern history.
I don't understand why this isn't a bigger issue. Is this person smart enough to be the Vice President? What academic background does she have? Did she study economic theory, government, business, sociology, international relations, foreign relations, law, or anything that even pertains to running our country? A minor in Political Science is her sole educational qualification?
We, the people of the United States of America, would be employing Sarah Palin! The President and Vice President work for us. We need to do our due diligence and measure her qualifications relative to the job description.
Joe Biden and Barack Obama have Law Degrees! Obama was the President of the Harvard Law Review and has 4 years experience in the US Senate. Biden has more than 30 years experience as a United States Senator. These are really accomplished candidates!
Mitt Romney ran the Olympics, two very successful companies and the large state of Mass. Romney had a perfect score on his SATs, graduated as valedictorian from BYU and got a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration from HARVARD! Regardless of whether you agree with his policies, we can agree that he is an extremely intelligent man and meets the minimum educational qualifications to run for the 2nd highest position in the country.
Tom Ridge went to Harvard and has a law degree. Joe Lieberman got his undergrad at Yale in Politics and Economics and has his law degree from Harvard. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Tim Pawlenty have law degrees. Bobby Jindral got his undergrad from Brown in Public Policy and his Master's Degree from Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, in Political Science. These people meet the educational standard nevermind what their political experience brings to the ticket.
John McCain turned down all of these potential Vice Presidents. He chose a person with a BS in Communications-Journalism and 18 months as a Governor of a state with under 700,000 people in it. This is unbelievable, embarrassing and outrageous.
Here is the analysis of the past 5 President/Vice President tickets:
1. Bush/Cheney
Bush has a degree from Yale in History and an MBA from Harvard. His experience as Governor of Texas, a state with 23 million people, added to his qualifications.
Cheney got both his BA and MA in Political Science at the University of Wyoming. Adding to his education were his experiences as Secretary of Defense, Chief of Staff, US Representative, House Minority Whip, etc.
2. Clinton/Gore
Clinton is a Rhodes Scholar who graduated from Georgetown with a degree in Foreign Service. He pursued further study at Oxford where he majored in Government. He graduated from Yale Law School where he met his wife, another Yale Law School graduate . In addition to his education, he had executive experience as Governor for 8 years.
Al Gore went to Harvard, where he majored in Government, and then proceeded to Vanderbilt Law, without graduating. He had congressional and senatorial experience.
3. Bush/Quayle
Bush had a BA in Economics. He did not have an MA or JD, but had experience serving in World War II, as a Congressman, an Ambassador to the UN, Chairman of the RNC, Director of CIA, etc.
Quayle had a BA in Political Science, JD from Indiana, and was a Congressman and a Senator.
4. Reagan/Bush
Reagan went to Eureka College where he graduated with a degree in Economics and Sociology, which is definitely NOT Communications/Journalism. Reagan was the Governor of California for 8 years (Pop. 36 million).
5. Carter/Mondale
Carter went to Annapolis and then served in the Georgia State Senate and as Governor of Georgia (Pop. 9.5 million). He had 6 years of military service as an officer in the Navy. He finished 59th out of 820 at the Naval Academy.
Mondale had a BA in Political Science and a Law Degree. He served as the AG for Minnesota at age 30 and was a US Senator for over 10 years.
Education qualifications do not necessarily mean that a person will make a great Vice President. Plenty of people on this list were terrible VPs or Presidents, BUT they were at least qualified to apply for the position.
Why are we even considering Sarah Palin for the job of Vice President? More importantly, why would John McCain EVER consider her over all the available, educationally qualified candidates, to lead this country in his absence.
If he dies, she is the President of the United States. Sarah Palin. PRESIDENT of the United States of America.
If elected, John McCain will be the oldest, non-sitting president in our nation's history. 9 Vice Presidents have succeeded to the Presidency. Would you feel comfortable with a person with a Bachelor's Degree and zero national or international experience running the United States of America? Fighting the War on Terrorism? Dealing with our economy? Interacting and meeting with foreign leaders? Leading the military?
The President and Vice President need to be the very best that America has to offer the rest of the world. They are our representatives, America's faces, the leaders of the free world. Too often we vote for people we'd rather have a beer with instead of people that are qualified for the job.
I completely understand John McCain's attempt to place an ordinary citizen inside the White House.
People can relate to Sarah Palin as their neighbor, friend, mother, sister or local politician.
If the United States were a company and you were a stockholder, would you elect Sarah Palin to be the CEO?
No.
Sarah Palin's educational background is pitiful for a Vice Presidential candidate.
Make this a campaign issue!
The Vice President's job is to succeed the President upon his/her death. Given this enormous responsibility, a Vice Presidential candidate must be vetted by the public as rigorously as the Presidential candidate.