Scott Walker has been working hard to convince voters he could be a "smart" president http://t.co/HD4lNiH7II pic.twitter.com/CXquNwryYL
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) July 12, 2015
Before we get to the reviews of today’s final teased-harder-than-the-next-Star-Wars campaign announcement, I want to go back to the “but he doesn’t even have a college degree!” mini-tempest. I agree that the issue of credentialling is overblown, but it’s the reason Walker decided to drop out that makes me wonder about his candidacy. From the Washington Post, back in February:
… Not even his friends at Marquette were entirely sure why he never finished. Some had heard that a parent had fallen ill, or maybe there was some financial strain. Others thought he had simply had enough of school.
Walker clearly liked college politics more than college itself. He had managed to line up 47 campaign endorsements, including ones from the ski team and the varsity chorus, but he had trouble showing up on time for French.
And, after four years, he had faltered on both fronts. He’d lost an ugly race for president. And he apparently had far too few credits to graduate…
As a freshman, Walker was elected to the student senate. He plunged into the job, leading a hard-charging impeachment inquiry into charges of misspent money.
But in his classes, some professors said they never saw the same level of focus on schoolwork. In introductory French, for instance, Walker routinely barged into the room after the lesson had begun, loudly making excuses…
“He seemed utterly bored,” said Michael Fleet, who taught him in a class on the politics of the Third World. Fleet said he’d hoped to get Walker into debates with the liberals in the room. But it didn’t work. Walker would only give occasional short speeches that made conservative arguments.
“It wasn’t always on key. It wasn’t always in response to anything,” Fleet said. “He wasn’t engaged. It was like he came in with a script.”
Campaigning, on the other hand, was something Walker seemed to enjoy. But he had trouble winning. As a freshman, for instance, he ran for a higher office in student government and was defeated by a write-in candidate…
And then he left Marquette altogether…