That goes for any influencial person, Republican and Democrat. Hell, football players graduate from prestigious schools with good GPA's and they can barely compose a sentence. There is clearly a double standard in our higher educational system when a student is well-connected or there is a political or financial advantage to the school for graduating the person.

I did extremely poorly in college right out of high school, not because of low intelligence or talent, but because I had little direction and little backing from my remaining parent. Yet, I have made my life an extreme success by educating myself and exposing myself to more aspects of life than most others could see in three lifetimes.

Most of the people I saw that stayed in school, made it to all their classes and graduated with honors, couldn't change a light bulb without instructions. They could never build an addition onto their house, knowing all about the electrical, plumbing, framing, tile, etc. They could never go into a business, quickly look over their business practices and create a computer program that was simple to use and efficient. They've never written a songs and performed them in front of thousands of people. They've never played racquetball at nearly a professional level, taking on opponents who were some of the best in the country.

College didn't teach me any of that stuff and in fact stifled me in finding out that I had talents in many areas, so I put little stock in what degree or certification any person may have.

What's the point to all of this? Everyone I've known in my life that have had that spark to rise above the lot they were dealt in life and overachieve, have been nothing at all like George Bush and a whole lot more like John Kerry. They were quick on the take, articulate and had wonderful senses of humor. Their children all became well-adjusted and gave more to the world than they took. Their interests were diversified. They embraced music and sports and loved the diversity the world offered. If they were religious, they didn't wear it on their sleeves and never judged others that believed otherwise.

So, in the future, if you want to have any speck of credibility left in your replies to my posts, you may wish to understand my perspective when you feel like touting somebody's college degree and grade point average. Instead show me their successes in the real world.