Bush's grades at university

Kerry and Bush had similar grades

Both candidates have been angling for the undecided voters
Former US presidential hopeful John Kerry did no better at university than his rival George Bush, records show.
Documents obtained by the Boston Globe daily showed Mr Kerry got a string of D grades in his first year at Yale.

The US media have made great play of the revelations, saying they overturn the perception that Mr Kerry was the president's intellectual superior.

"So much for the notion that President Bush is a dunce compared with Senator Kerry," said the New York Daily News.

The records show that "the tangle-tongued Texan and the loquacious liberal senator from Massachusetts" both ended up with C grades at the end of their university careers, the paper said.

I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction

John Kerry

Mr Kerry gave permission for the US Navy officer school where he was trained to release his records to the Boston Globe.

They showed that Mr Kerry had a cumulative grade average of 76 for his four years at Yale, the paper said.

Mr Bush, who also went to Yale and was two years behind John Kerry, had an average of 77, according to records published by the New Yorker magazine in 1999.

Bravery questioned

Mr Kerry has said he spent more of his time concentrating on learning to fly, debating, and political activities, than on studying.

But he tried to put a gloss on his poor grades.

"I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction," Mr Kerry told the Globe.

During the presidential campaign, the Democratic candidate - awarded medals for bravery during the Vietnam war - refused to release his military records.

It led to speculation that there might be something in his military history he wanted to hide, and fuelled an anti-Kerry campaign calling his status as a Vietnam hero into question.

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Fair enough Kerry did badly too, but to be honest are you not all worried about the state of your political system if they got those kinds ofg rades in university?

Not really. If all the smart people became politicions, THEN I'd be afraid.

But these politicians are running your country!

That's a worry.

There is a big difference between ones abilities as a student and ones abilities as a leader. These grades mean nothing.

Grades are entirely subjective at the university level. They are meaningless and certainly are not reflective of one's ability to lead, as Rei said.

In fact, most people with high GPAs have the lowest incomes in the American economy. Why? Because they are not practical - they deal in theory, and thus end up working in a university lab. My mother made a 2.4 GPA at Texas A&M under Civil Engineering. Now, she's making $335,000 a year at Innovene

Yeah, and a classmate of mine in chemestry, who is a bit of a dunce in many ways, managed to get a 98 in biology because she was able to remember facts and figures easily, but that doesn't mean you would want her to be your doctor.

My brother is another example. He barely managed to graduate, and had to do grade twelve in two years to get the credits he needed. However, he is an intellectual genius, a skilled actor, a good stage manager, reads books I would never even touch, and could be a good director. Nobody would guess any of these by looking at his report card.

You make another good point, Brad (which, coincidently is also my brother's name). Plumbers don't need to understand Shakespeare or the finer points of microbiology.

university is different to schools, those types of grade at university level in the types of subjects Bush was taking show a laziness to do the work. If it had been physics I would have left it.

It is also worth noting that many liberals had been attacking Bush and portraying him as a stupid Texan, when they were swooning over John Kerry and thinking he was the greatest thing since Bill Clinton.

If I hear one person go on about a stupid Texan; they would be best advised to know they are walking into a firing line.

What, we can't make fun of the way someone talks without saying he's stupid at the same time? But you can't deny that he's not the greatest public speaker in the world and has a tendency to say things that make him sound stupid. Sometimes we just want to amuse ourselves. That doesn't mean we don't have legit reasons for disliking him.

Amen, Rei. It is completely within our rights to make fun of the President and others in charge. Why not? When you get fed up with the idiodicy of the Government, what else is there to do besides make bad jokes?

Incidentally, as stupid as it was, I think the 'D for Distinction' is meant to be rather tounge-in-cheek. He's making fun of himself. I found at a rally in Cedar Rapids that Kerry really has a great sense of humor. Bon Jovi opened on acoustic before all of the speaking. When Kerry came out he said "He and I really have a lot in common. I like guitar, he like guitar. He was voted one of People Magazine's 100 most beautiful people and I...bought a copy and read the whole thing." He's funny. I don't think Busk talks the way he does or says the things he does to be funny. "Hey, won't it be great if the nation thinks I'm a dope?" I don't think so.

There's only one thing I can honestly say I like about bush...he makes you feel like ANYONE can be president! Even the homeless person on the street. And I am almost positive THEY would do a better job at running the country!

~Darci

I'll walk into the firing line. Bush is just a texan hick. He is an ape like figure with a brain to match. He sent us into war with no cause. He's lead many into being duped by his right wing agenda becuase its "safer". More people have died in the name of god for any other reason, that should show you his agenda is unsafe. As they have said, being a good leader and being smart in calss is diffrent. Who has a more logically thinking brain??? I wouldnt say bush.

ROFLOLMAO

Why does everyone take this so seriously? It's hilarious!

And besides, even if you get bad grades, it doesn't mean you can't think properly. (Take it from one who knows...)