# Obama's college transcripts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 21, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492 "2012-04-21T12:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/101 "2012-04-23T18:18:31Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Why do you think Barack Obama owes you, personally, the release of information to which you are not entitled, and which has not been released about any other president in recent history? This is at best technically accurate. No president has released his college grades as far as I know, but the grades of several candidates have been published by the press. Obama wasn’t one of those. I don’t think John McCain’s grades ever came out either, although it was known beforehand that he’d finished very close to the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/102 "2012-04-23T18:24:10Z")
To be fair, McCain’s grades were in cuneiform. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/103 "2012-04-23T19:16:51Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > His accomplishments are very impressive… and I don’t blame him for the tactics that any other politican would use… I’m more disrespectful of those who cover for him and his team. As others have asked, what, specifically, do you think is being covered up here? Meanwhile, quick thought experiment. Are the police allowed to go to random citizens and demand that they release confidential information about themselves, purely as a sort of fishing expedition for potential evidence of an unknown crime? If not, how is your demand for the release of confidential university records any different? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/104 "2012-04-23T19:45:56Z")
I love the circular gotcha aspect of all this. The Democrats should do the same to Romney: Step 1) Certified loon (left wing Rush equivalent) says something insane: “Romney has terminal cancer, nobody should vote for him because he’s going to drop dead in 18 months.” Step 2) Generic pundits on national media (left wing equivalent of Fox News) report on this non-troversy as though they’re just doing their diligent job as journalists. “People are questioning Romney’s health.” Who is? I dunno. People. Step 3) Other generic pundits and bloggers pick up the scent of a story (left wing equivalent of the National Review) and start pontificating on why Romney won’t release his medical records. Step 4) Otherwise normal lefties start “just asking questions” on message boards. It’s not so much that they think Romney really _does_ have terminal cancer, you see, it’s just that they don’t know what he’s hiding. What does he have to gain by keeping them secret? Why won’t he release them?!?!? It would be so easy for him to just release them already and put the rumors to rest. Step 5) Profit!! Step 6 (Optional): In the off-chance that Romney then does release his medical records, find hack-job bloggers who are self-declared document experts to proclaim them “obvious fakes.” Unfortunately, I don’t think any of those players have a left-wing equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/105 "2012-04-23T19:48:09Z")
The OP’s ambiguous crusade reminds me of the old _Daily Show_ bit where they accosted random people on the street with their camera crew and began aggressively asking “why won’t you answer my questions? _What are you hiding_?” Except I’m pretty sure they were \*intentionally \*trying to be funny… ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/106 "2012-04-23T21:48:05Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > I love the circular gotcha aspect of all this. The Democrats should do the same to Romney: > > Step 1) etc. You have a dark gift. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/107 "2012-04-23T22:32:12Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Beyond transcripts there are probably other college records…apllications, financial aid etc. > > Releasing transcripts might lead to something more. > > Did anyone verify for me that neither his Columbia nor his Harvard records have been released? > > BTW…anybody see the UK paper story about his dad being on some sort of watch list? I can’t find it at the moment …saw it just a few days ago. So… basically, you want others to do the work to enact your partisan agenda for you? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/108 "2012-04-23T22:41:14Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > You have a dark gift. Concur. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/109 "2012-04-24T12:56:21Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > So… basically, you want others to do the work to enact your partisan agenda for you? Exactly…now that they are done “basking in the warm glow”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/110 "2012-04-24T12:59:05Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > As others have asked, what, specifically, do you think is being covered up here? > > Meanwhile, quick thought experiment. Are the police allowed to go to random citizens and demand that they release confidential information about themselves, purely as a sort of fishing expedition for potential evidence of an unknown crime? If not, how is your demand for the release of confidential university records any different? If I listed the possibilities would that really help? How do the police and random citizens relate to info gathering on presidential candidates… or Presidents if one got that far already. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/111 "2012-04-24T13:18:37Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Exactly…now that they are done “basking in the warm glow”. Ain’t gonna happen. Obama has nothing to gain by releasing his transcripts other than give partisan hacks more fodder for spinning conspiracy theories. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/112 "2012-04-24T13:51:02Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > DianaG, let’s dial it back a bit, please. Moderators often don’t get praise for a job well done, but this was a very politely worded caution and I think the perfect response. Nothing is going to satisfy the anti-Obama crowd. If it was revealed that he was Ronald Reagan’s love child pushed out of the womb on the steps of the Capitol directly onto Betsy Ross’ original flag with a military band playing the national anthem in the background, they’d demand proof that he had his hand over his heart while exiting the womb. This is just a witch hunt. They don’t give a damn about his grades, they want to see what courses he took so they can be made to look like socialist indoctination. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/113 "2012-04-24T14:00:22Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > If I listed the possibilities would that really help? > > How do the police and random citizens relate to info gathering on presidential candidates… or Presidents if one got that far already. Complete non-response, which indicates to me that you are not operating on the level here, but I’ll answer you anyway. You are demanding confidential information as a sort of fishing expedition. This same behavior would generally be considered out of line if carried out by law enforcement authorities. So, kindly justify your right to demand, and reason for demanding, such information. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/114 "2012-04-24T14:04:29Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > on edit, I see that **Fotheringay-Phipps** beat me to the affirmative action punch. Amazing, right? Yes, but you’ve exagerated and caricatured it tremendously. I’ve never heard anyone claim that Obama was a moron. However, there is some suspicion that his celebrated academic accomplishments have less to them that meets the eye. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/115 "2012-04-24T14:08:34Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > If I listed the possibilities would that really help? It’d indicate you’re not on a fishing expedition. 😉 I’m not sure you saw this question earlier, but we do know that Obama graduated magna (top 10 percent of his class) from Harvard Law. That’s a concrete piece of information about his academic performance. What does it tell you? And there is no way any of Obama’s college are going to release things like his application or financial aid information. That information is supposed to be confidential, which means the release would upset students and alumni, and I don’t think the colleges want their decisionmaking processes to be made that public. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/116 "2012-04-24T14:15:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Nothing is going to satisfy the anti-Obama crowd. That’s only because we can’t turn back time to the 1950s, especially back to a 1950s that only existed in certain people’s childhood imaginations. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/117 "2012-04-24T14:21:19Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Snopes says he hasn’t made his Columbia transcripts available[here.](http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/columbia.asp) > > Have there been any official explanations why not? > > How about his Harvard transcripts? > > Just the facts please. Has anyone requested a copy of any of Obama’s college records from him or from the White House? Or do you believe that releasing such records is normal procedure and not releasing them requires an explanation? Or maybe you think that the president should read message boards and Snopes and officially respond to every whack-job theory he finds. Your Snopes link (did you read it? what do you think of the theories in there?) suggests that Obama didn’t even attend Columbia. Is that really what you are on about here? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/118 "2012-04-24T14:32:04Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I’ve never heard anyone claim that Obama was a moron. Hah! Hahaha! HAHAHAHAAHAHA!!! [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Obama+is+a+Moron](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Obama+is+a+Moron) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/119 "2012-04-24T15:59:57Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > However, there is some suspicion that his celebrated academic accomplishments have less to them that meets the eye. This is curious. What I’ve heard about Obama is that he: a) Attended Harvard Law. b) Edited, and then presided over, the _Harvard Law Review_. c) Graduated _magna cum laude_. d) Taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Is there “suspicion” that one or more of those claims is untrue? Based on what? I would consider those fairly impressive “academic accomplishments” on their own. Should he have done more than that? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492/120 "2012-04-24T16:04:32Z")
I guess we’re supposed to be scandalized by the suggestion that maybe Obama’s race helped him get into Columbia and/or Harvard, which I assume it did. Because as we all know, you have to be a geniuses to get into Harvard if you’re white, but if you’re a member of a minority group, they’ll take anybody. I’m sure it also helped that Barack Obama Sr. had a graduate degree from Harvard himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-college-transcripts/619492.md?page=7)