So much for "Bush the Dummy."

Washington Post ^ | 7 June 2005 | Howard Kurtz

[carrier-aviator]

From Howard Kurtz's column in The Washington Post (online), Politics Section, 7 June 2005.

"During last year's presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences," the Boston Globe observes. "But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago. "In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year. "Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D's in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years."

[finnman69]

OMG LOOK at this pic of Lurch and contrast w/W. DORK!

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/06/07/yale_grades_portray_kerry_as_a_lackluster_student/

Yale grades portray Kerry as a lackluster student His 4-year average on par with Bush's

By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | June 7, 2005

WASHINGTON -- During last year's presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences.

But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago.

In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year.

Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D's in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years.

The grade transcript, which Kerry has always declined to release, was included in his Navy record. During the campaign the Globe sought Kerry's naval records, but he refused to waive privacy restrictions for the full file. Late last month, Kerry gave the Navy permission to send the documents to the Globe.

Kerry appeared to be responding to critics who suspected that there might be damaging information in the file about his activities in Vietnam. The military and medical records, however, appear identical to what Kerry has already released. This marks the first time Kerry's grades have been publicly reported.

The transcript shows that Kerry's freshman-year average was 71. He scored a 61 in geology, a 63 and 68 in two history classes, and a 69 in political science. His top score was a 79, in another political science course. Another of his strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.

Under Yale's grading system in effect at the time, grades between 90 and 100 equaled an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, and anything below that was a failing grade. In addition to Kerry's four D's in his freshman year, he received one D in his sophomore year. He did not fail any courses.

''I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction," Kerry said yesterday in a written response to questions, noting that he has previously acknowledged that he spent a lot of time learning to fly instead of focusing on his studies.

Kerry's weak grades came despite years of education at some of the world's most elite prep schools, ranging from Fessenden School in Massachusetts to St. Paul's School in New Hampshire.

It is noteworthy, however, that Kerry received a high honor at Yale despite his mediocre grades: He was chosen to deliver his senior class oration, a testament to his reputation as a public speaker. He delivered a speech questioning the wisdom of the Vietnam War, in which he would soon see combat.

Kerry gradually improved his grades, averaging 81 in his senior year. His highest single grade was an 89, for a political science class in his senior year. Despite his slow start, he went on to be a top student at Naval Candidate School, command a patrol boat in Vietnam, graduate from law school, and become a prosecutor, lieutenant governor, US senator, and presidential candidate.

In his Navy application, Kerry made clear that he spent much of his college time on extracurricular activities, including the Yale Political Union, the Debating Association, soccer, hockey, fencing, and membership in the elite Skull and Bones Society. Asked to describe nonschool training that qualified him for the Navy, Kerry wrote: ''A great deal of sailing -- ocean and otherwise, including some navigation. Scuba diving. Rifle. Beginning of life saving." He said his special interests were ''filming," writing, and politics, noting that the latter subject occupied 15 hours per week.

Gaddis Smith, a retired Yale history professor who taught both Kerry and Bush, said in a telephone interview that he vividly remembers Kerry as a student during the 1964-1965 school year, when Kerry would have been a junior. However, Smith said he doesn't have a specific memory about Bush.

Based on what Smith recalls teaching that year, Kerry scored a 71 and 79 in two of Smith's courses. When Smith was told those scores, he responded: ''Uh, oh. I thought he was good student. Those aren't very good grades." To put the grades in perspective, Smith said that he had a well-earned reputation for being tough, and noted that such grades would probably be about 10 points higher in a similar class today because of the impact of what he called ''grade inflation."

Bush went to Yale from 1964 to 1968; his highest grades were 88s in anthropology, history, and philosophy, according to The New Yorker article. He received one D in his four years, a 69 in astronomy. Bush has said he was a C student.

Like Kerry, Bush reportedly suffered through a difficult freshman year and then pulled his grades up.

[FreeAtlanta]

I guess they never heard of Kerry's middle name; Forbes

I know, you thought it was F'n

[SMARTY]

If Bush didn't do his own work, why did he only get 77? The ideas is, if you can parlay wealth, influence and privilege into better grades than you actually earned, then why settle for only 77???? DUHHH!!!

[golfboy]

Interesting update. I read on Michelle Malkin's website that the author of this Boston Globe piece is the same guy who authored Kerry's glowing biography. And the Navy is previously on record that they had over 100 pages of documents that they couldn't release without Kerry's approval. I wonder if the globe actually received all those pages???

Me thinks that the grades are only the tip of the iceberg. Senator Kerry, release ALL the records!

[ken21]

the democrats do this to inspire their own not-so-intelligent deaniac followers at universities. these radicals do not follow the issues but only need to emote that they are more "intelligent" than the republicans.

[Congressman Billybob]

The Yale Political Union was never intended to be either a "debating society" nor a "lecture series." I was an officer of the Union when John Kerry showed up for his first debate.

We had four political parties, then, the Party of the Left, the Liberals, the Conservatives, and the Party of the Right. Before each monthly meeting, the Board of Directors would put before all four parties a proposition on which they would take a position. Then, it would invite a leading national speaker on that subject, and the parties would choose two debaters each for an Oxford-style debate on that subject.

The point of all this was not mere words. Instead, it was to get the House to vote in favor of your position at the end of the evening. The Union then was roughly divided in half between liberal and conservative, with the two largest parties being the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "60 Million Frenchmen Can't be Wrong"

[Congressman Billybob]

The Yale Political Union was never intended to be either a "debating society" nor a "lecture series." I was an officer of the Union when John Kerry showed up for his first debate.

We had four political parties, then, the Party of the Left, the Liberals, the Conservatives, and the Party of the Right. Before each monthly meeting, the Board of Directors would put before all four parties a proposition on which they would take a position. Then, it would invite a leading national speaker on that subject, and the parties would choose two debaters each for an Oxford-style debate on that subject.

The point of all this was not mere words. Instead, it was to get the House to vote in favor of your position at the end of the evening. The Union then was roughly divided in half between liberal and conservative, with the two largest parties being the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "60 Million Frenchmen Can't be Wrong"

[syriacus]

Another of [Kerry's] strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.

???How can a Frenchman end up with a 77 in a French course???

I know. I know...it was a very advanced course.

[monkapotamus]

Witch C averages it makes you wonder how either of these two got into graduate schools / law schools. Or were standards different back then?

[johnb838]

I think we've already covered this in sufficient detail before you joined. Time to MOVE ON!

[syriacus]

The Yale Political Union was never intended to be either a "debating society" nor a "lecture series."

Thanks for the information about the lecturers already having been invited to the Union.

I must have misunderstood the article, (which was from the Yale website), which seemed to say Kerry extinguished debate.

As president, Kerry officially extinguished debate during the 1960s, transforming the Union into a lecture series.

[avital2]

and, what word on Ms Hillary's trancript and senior thesis? isn't it about time for those to be released?

[syriacus]

Fox News, just now, reported this story - that Bush and Kerry's transcripts at Yale were similar.
...mentioned the 4 D's that Kerry got.

[gop_gene]

Holy cr*p! Kerry looks AWFUL. And what's with his hair . . . ??? It looks like a godawful combover plastered down with an entire bottle of brilliante.

[NASBWI]

In defense of both Kerry and Bush, some people have a hard enough time maintaining a 77 in any college, let alone an Ivy-League. Furthermore, wasn't the head of FedEx the gentleman who received a C on his term paper (at Yale, I believe) theorizing the validity of the next-day-small-parcel delivery service? I dunno, doesn't seem that getting a 77 is all *that* bad.

[Cecily]

So much for "Bush the Dummy?" Hey Howie, you and the rest of the lamestream media are the ones who have been trying to convince us that Lurch, algore, and the Hildebeast are the three greatest geniuses in America today, when I am quite certain you have known better all along.

[Rise of South Park Republicans]

College Democrats

[CyberAnt]

"Bush got higher SAT scores than Kerry"


And Bush's SATs were also higher than Gore. While Gore did finish Yale, Gore flunked out of law school and was kicked out of divinity school - because of his marijuana use.

So .. parents .. if you don't want your children to end up a nut case like Gore - don't let them smoke mairjuana now. Just a thought.