The Important VP Q: Harvard/Yale

Published Aug 19 2008, 06:09 PM by David S. Bernstein

As I have discussed before, perhaps obsessively, the really important thing about Presidential nominees is whether they went to Harvard or Yale. For quite some time, Harvard has been humiliated, left outside while Yalies -- like Bush Sr. and Jr., and Bill Clinton -- have bested Cambridge's best.

Well, not this year: Barack Obama, Harvard Law '91, outdueled Hillary Rodham Clinton, Yale Law '73. Take that, New Haven!

The GOP, of course, took a different course, choosing someone out of the military academies. So, will an Ivy at least get on the Republican ticket? And if so, which school? Here are the most commonly mentioned candidates:

Willard Mitt Romney: double-Harvard (business and law)

Tom Ridge: Harvard undergrad

Joe Lieberman: double-Yale (undergrad and law)

Tim Pawlenty: no Ivy

Bobby Jindal: Brown!

In case you're wondering about Obama's choices, the only Ivy alum heading the recent Veepstakes lists is Tim Kaine out of Harvard Law. Biden, Bayh, and Sebelius went to, I dunno, other schools that I'm sure are fine too.

If Obama wants to balance the ticket, John Forbes Kerry has a BA from Yale....

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1 Comments

jeffery mcnary said:

At the risk of sounding picky, traditionalists view 'harvard college' ONLY as the pedegree, i.e. Adams (+ 1), Ted and Franklin Roosevelt, and JFK. Gore would have made the cut had he been inaugurated.

The professional schools, e.g., law, business, medicine, etc. really don't count in certain registries.

August 20, 2008 11:56 AM