‘President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob.’ – Rick Santorum.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’scomments recently that characterized Obama as a “snob” for wanting “everybody in America to go to college” has triggered rebukes from Republican governors as well as broader discussions on workforce issues nationally.
Santorum’s comments came while campaigning in Michigan, which is holding its primary Tuesday. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has also been campaigning heavily inMichigan in hopes of solidifying himself as the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.
“Not all folks are gifted in the same way,”Santorum said Saturday, according to TheWashington Post. “Some people have incredible gifts with their hands. Some people have incredible gifts and ... want to work out there making things. President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob.”
The Post reported that Santorum added: “There are good decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to test that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate them.”
Some Republican governors have taken issue with Santorum’s comments.
"I wish [Santorum] had said it differently," said Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, according to the Huffington Post. "I'm pushing in Virginia this year 100,000 new degrees over the next 15 years. I want more college graduates. But that means community college and four-year universities, but not to the exclusion of realizing that some people are going to graduate from high school and be in the trades. What we say is we want somebody to be career ready or college ready. If we haven't done one of those two things for the young people, we have failed you."
Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley has also weighed in, reports Fox News.
"I think the bottom line is we all recognize the more a person learns, the more a person earns," Foxreported O’Malley saying.
Santorum’s comments come as a historically high number of people are earning college degrees.
Five percent of Americans had a four-year college degree in 1947, compared to three in 10 adults who have the degrees in 2011, reported The Washington Post.
Weigh in below and in our poll: What do you think of Santorum’s comments?
Amy M. Gilford
6:43 am on Friday, March 2, 2012
Would have preferred if Obama said he wanted everyone to go to college or trade school. College is just not an option for many or not needed for a number of essential trades. It shows a bit of a disconnect.
Kathy
6:46 am on Friday, March 2, 2012
This guy is just playing to the populist crowd--"Shucks, we don't need no college--we're just regular folks!" Of course he went to college. It is the same anti-intellectual thinking that gets us friendly but dumb presidents, people are afraid of someone too smart. Did you also hear his statement that "68% of young people of faith that enter college come out with less faith" (as if that can even be measured--he probably made the statistic up). He is worried that once the kids are exposed to science, history and other new ideas they are not going to blindly believe what Mom and Dad have been telling them but are going to start thinking for themselves--well folks, that's what is called growing up. It happens to your kids even if they don't go to college.
Kathy
6:48 am on Friday, March 2, 2012
By the way, Obama did say "college or vocational school or apprenticeship"
Judith M. Smith
5:11 pm on Friday, March 2, 2012
If you pay attention...he said that everyone should be able to go to college...didn't Mr. Santorum??? Can you imagine us electing a president that didn't get a college education??? Santorum is a quack