Yes, learning economics 101 is boring. But it is behooves you.

“That is to say, the identity of your patrons is all important.”

If you depend on connections, you can never be independent of the social demands and political goals of your patrons. If you betray either, you will be cast into outer darkness.

If you are dependent on this network for economic and social advancement, you will find it very hard to voice dissent. You will suppress dissenting thoughts. You will react with bewilderment and/or rage to people who challenge the orthodoxies that regulate the network. After all, it is your social standing and rice bowl that are at risk.

I think this is the story of the New Class.

while Obama, son of a Kenyan and a white single mother from Kansas, who managed to get into Harvard (I know, I know, all PC AA BS) IS supposedly part of this cabal of elitists?

Because he’s the spokesmodel for them, obviously. Which is why Ayers selected Him, and groomed Him as best he could. And why Ted Kennedy & Co., Hollywood, and academia all plumped for Him.

The major draw of a Harvard, at least, is not the education, but the connections. As pointed out previously, a chemistry degree from Harvard isn’t accredited by the American Chemical Society – it’s too weak. Harvard turns out CEOs of chemical companies, not chemists. Their undergraduates know just enough to know when to grunt at cocktail parties, but that’s it. The reason? It frees up time for the faculty to pursue their research, which brings in prestige and research money to the university. There’s lots of high-minded talk about Harvard, but when they’re serious (as in dealing with money), the missives come from the “Harvard Corporation.” Tells you all you need to know.

I’d agree with dane that even graduating from West Point probably denotes a higher level of accomplishment than a similar graduate from an Ivy League school.

I became a conservative during the second semester of my third year at Yale, in the required “Junior Seminar.” We were reading Jonathan Schell’s The Fate of the Earth, and our professor enthused about the abolishment of national sovereignty as the cure for all ills. (It turned out that she was actually the Mayor of Crazy Town, but it got me thinking…)

Anyway, this post is not about PC thought control, but about the types of people who graduate from the Ivies. It turns out that it’s “push” and “go” that gets you into the Ivies – the willingness to get the great internships, play three sports and edit the school paper, plus doing science research at the local university, getting private tutoring for the SATs and going all-out to excel. Even so, today very few of even the best-prepared and most impressive students ever get in, there just aren’t enough places. Back in my day, it was enough to be smart and interesting, a good writer, and a legacy…my dad was in the class of ’58. Last year our own brilliant son applied (both parents are legacies) and he didn’t get in. He’s now at the University of Chicago studying economics and Arabic, God bless him!

It’s that same “push” and “go” and drive for recognition that sends the Ivy Leaguers to the halls of power. It’s a great canvas for their energies – and it doesn’t matter on what side of the aisle you sit.

Having studied at Yale I can tell you that the only thing that really sets it apart from other fine institutions is its history and name. The teachers aren’t necessarily better (witness the Mayor of Crazy Town) and while the students are certainly smart and motivated, so are a lot of students at a lot of other really fantastic schools which don’t happen to be as old, as hallowed, as ivy-covered, or as well-known.

Bottom line? Those Elis (and Harvards, and all the rest) put on their trousers (or their pantyhose) one leg at a time, just like everyone else.

With your hit and run attitude and your “Clive Crook” (interesting name by the way) comment you illustrate the intellectual arrogance others have been talking about. I don’t think anyone on this thread said that “everyone” from an Ivy League institution is incapable. I think the point being made by most is that an Ivy League degree doesn’t make one any more qualified than anyone else but that most of those who have one use it to imply just that.

I don’t remember anyone in the Bush campaigns or in the press “touting” that he had an Ivy League degree. In fact many used the fact he had one a tool to make more fun of him.

With McCain it was the fact he graduated fourth from the bottom in his class at Annapolis that was used to demean his mental acumen. Now with a brother who graduated from a service academy and a niece and nephew there currently (knowing how the curriculum is front loaded with math and science and what is considered a passing grade) I can tell you it is almost a certainty that someone with a degree from Annapolis – no matter what their class rank – is better equipped to deal with the problems of this country than someone who graduated at the top of his class in the Ivy League with an MBA or an LLB.