College isn't worth it and you should stay out of corporate America, Michelle Obama, the Princeton graduate who went to Harvard Law School before joining the white shoe Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, told an audience of working mothers at a daycare center in Zanesville, Ohio.
After speaking of the burdens of student loans from her upper-crust education, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama told the women at the day-care center that she'd prefer they not follow in her upwardly mobile footsteps. Better if they stay in their place, back in "the community."
"We left corporate America, which is a lot of what we're asking young people to do," Byron York reports Michelle told the women. "Don't go into corporate America. You know, become teachers. Work for the community. Be social workers. Be a nurse. Those are the careers that we need, and we're encouraging our young people to do that. But if you make that choice, as we did, to move out of the money-making industry into the helping industry, then your salaries respond." Faced with that reality, she adds, "many of our bright stars are going into corporate law or hedge-fund management."
York points out that spending too much on college and getting too involved with bank-account enriching and presumably soul-sucking corporate America is not too much of a problem for the people of Zanesville. "According to the U.S. Census, Muskingum County, where Zanesville is located, had a median household income of $37,192 in 2004, below both the Ohio and national averages. Just 12.2 percent of adults in the county have a bachelor's degree or higher, also well below the state and national averages. About 20 percent don't have a high school degree," York writes.
Well, at least she wasn't telling grade school kids in the Bronx that they were studying too hard.
Michelle Obama: "Don't Go Into Corporate America" [The Corner]
Posted by Mikeshardlemon , Mar 03, 2008 3:33PM
John. You're an idiot. She left "corporate america" to become a hospital administrator. He left "corporate america" to become a community organizer. They are the poorest couple in the presidential race and they made the bulk of their money from his book sales. Don't fall victim to the confirmation bias.
Posted by byrneseyeview , Mar 03, 2008 3:36PM
From the National Review:
the white-shoe Chicago firm of Sidley & Austin
From Dealbreaker:
the white shoe Chicago law-firm Sidley & Austin
Who is that comma running from?
Posted by Bugs Meany , Mar 03, 2008 3:37PM
Why would she advise people to make money and provide for themselves? Then they wouldn't vote Democrat.
Oh, and I love that, while she's better off than 99 percent of whites in what liberals love to call the most racist country in the world, she was never proud to be an American until her husband's poll numbers went up.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 3:37PM
You know what the funny part is, I bet all the people in the audience ate it up with a spoon and loved it.
People are sheep.
Posted by John Carney , Mar 03, 2008 3:42PM
Oh, they definitely loved it.
Here's the local news report.
http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/NEWS03/802290319/1002/NEWS01
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 3:45PM
I know plenty of people at Sidley...I'm sure she did VERY well for herself. Also $300k+ for a cushy job isn't that bad (plus most of her job is politics, coincidence?).
Plus, she asks people to forgo college to do things like teach. Who does she thinks is teaching? A college education is (and should be) a requirement to be a teacher. Believe me, my gf is a teacher - those are the types of positions that would be burdened by the debt.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 3:46PM
I know plenty of people at Sidley...I'm sure she did VERY well for herself. Also $300k+ for a cushy job isn't that bad (plus most of her job is politics, coincidence?).
Plus, she asks people to forgo college to do things like teach. Who does she thinks is teaching? A college education is (and should be) a requirement to be a teacher. Believe me, my gf is a teacher - those are the types of positions that would be burdened by the debt.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 3:50PM
I bet she got a lot of sympathy for the $10,000+ per year she has to spend on dance lessons, summer camps, and sports clubs for her kids.
If we're being honest, I'd have liked to see her ask the women there if times were so hard and money is so tight, then why did they decide to have kids at this point? Why not wait a few years, put some money aside and then have kids when they were more financially stable?
And why is she so worried about college loans? If people don't go to Princeton and Harvard Law school, plus whever Barack went, the student loans wouldn't be so bad. How about 2 years at a junior college and then transferring to a state school?
Not to get too sidetracked, but I have a good friend who had a consulting type of job in NYC. His coworkers, the same age as he was, liked to make fun of him because they all went to Ivy League and East Coast schools and he went to the "lowly Univ of Oklahoma." He'd just smile and say, "I've got the same job you do and my parents didn't haven't to go into debt for me to get it."
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 3:52PM
You guys need lessons in reading comprehension. Much as you would like to have MO look stupid, she didn't say that people should not go to college. Typical repubican drivvel. You people are so afraid of the truth (which basically is that 8 years under that asshole bush have really messed up america) and cant win elections on issues, so you start the swift boating. Rush, Hannity, Levin. A long line of liars.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 3:57PM
Hillary blows
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:05PM
what a stupid ungrateful bitch
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:06PM
@3:50 Without too much exaggeration, I would say that the chances of a UoO grad getting a good consulting job are about 1 in ten thousand; the chances of an ivy grad getting one about 1 in 20. The payoff from the incremental cost of the ivy education is therefore a bet worth taking. Is that so difficult to comprehend? I hope at the office they're not letting you play with live bullets.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:14PM
@ 4:06
The chances of people who already have their consulting jobs getting consulting jobs is 1 in 1, so the friend who saved the money on their education has every right to be smug about it.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:18PM
at least she knows her audience. of course this is what she is going to say to a largely un-educated group of people. i don't think anyone expected her to storm in there and glorify how she received some of the best education in the world. similar to how both hill and barack slam NAFTA while in Ohio, and then do not even touch the subject when in TX (where it is vastly more popular). the sad thing is, most voters aren't bright enough to see this pandering, and this is exactly why she should stop talking, because keeping these people out of institutions of higher-learning only further her husband's cause by keeping them in the dark about his (and hill's) two-timing ways...
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:18PM
@3:50 / 4:14 - shut up.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:21PM
@ 3:50,
i'm not sure if it is a typo in your last sentence, but i went and got my college degree on my OWN dime (i.e. I am the one who is in debt). my parents couldn't afford to put up the cash or take on the debt, so i did. as much as i hate the SL payments every months, i know i wouldn't be in the position that I am by not taking on that debt...
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:23PM
Well, then I guess the odds were against him and he did just fine.
Obviously a degree from Harvard opens more doors than one from OU - and it should. But it's what you do once you are inside those doors that matters. Obviously, if you are fortunate enough to get accepted at Harvard (on your own merits) then you are quite intelligent and driven and will probably be successful in any field. But, an intelligent, driven, hard-working person with a degree from just about any university can be just as successful as any Ivy Leaguer if he can perform in the "real world".
As long as we're talking about real examples, I have another friend we went to a crappy juco in So-Cal, transferred to the Univ. of Colorado, then went to law school at CU as well. (Hardly a Stanford or Yale.) He decided to go JAG in the Marines but took a very high paying corporate law job in DC when he finished and then took an even higher paying one in New York City.
The point it is, if you've got the means, use them and more power to you. But you don't need to go into massive debt at schools that cost $25-$50,000 per semester just to be successful and make a lot of money.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:34PM
Your headline says: "Michelle Obama Urges the Poors to Stay that Way ..." Poors? Drop the "s."
Michelle Obama is beautiful, poised and likeable but she doesn't always say the savviest things politically. She's got to get moving on that learning curve, like her husband did.
Her tone of plaintiveness reminds me of Bill and Hillary Clinton, pre-1992. Despite what Michelle Obama probably considers years of struggle, for a couple in their 40s, the Obamas are actually doing quite well. It's too bad Michelle can't fully appreciate what she has and how few have it. Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard, as expensive as they were, all helped contribute to their blue-chip appeal.
Posted by John Carney , Mar 03, 2008 4:37PM
"The Poors" is not an error. It's a joke.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:38PM
This is from National Review!!! Carney, did you contact Holly Richards of the Zanesville Times Recorder to corroborate the story? How do we know that Michelle Obama actually said what was reported? Look, college isn't worth it for everyone. We all have different abilities, skills, interests, talents, etc. The argument that everyone should go to college is as dumb as saying well professional athletes make a lot of money and work their way out of poverty so we should all be professional athletes. We can't all be lawyers, doctors, consultants, bankers, writers, website creators, etc. Going to college isn’t the only way of “making it” in America. And working in corporate America isn’t and shouldn’t be the goal of everyone.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:44PM
4:23 You are just plain dumb. I can see it from the way you write and think.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:45PM
@4:38 Bravo. Best thing I've seen here in days.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:46PM
@ 4:38 pm
Do you mean, "Well, the world needs ditchdiggers too"?
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 4:48PM
Carney we have to start restricitng the site to people who know that who "mot's" are and those who understand your humor! So from now on the site is no longer available to "The poors".
Posted by Debter , Mar 03, 2008 4:51PM
hahahahaha...the poors should stay where they are. How do you think we got in to this subprime (euphemism for "the poors") mess..lending to the poors (yes I took that from the Michale Lewis article on BB).
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Mar 03, 2008 4:53PM
Why do you "Haves" continuously keep Lon Varney busy by forcing him to point out his subtle humor in DB's comment section? I'm a TTTT, and even I've somehow grasped this shit.
-proletariat, speaking on behalf of the poors
Posted by Cov Lite , Mar 03, 2008 5:02PM
WTF is a TTTT?
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Mar 03, 2008 5:04PM
@Cov Lite,
It means I went to welding school, wear a mask all day, and refresh my iphone continuously seeking the golden writings from John Carney and Bess Levin.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 5:46PM
@4:28,
No one is 'forcing' anyone to go to scool. Just that if someone went to school and did great and you were a dropout, then dont later on cuss and rant on how your life sucks and you canno buy healthcare for your kids whereas the other guy can! And then try to somehow extort money in the form of taxes claiming equality!
Hey, you did not put in 'equal' effort so you deserve shit. And if you cant control your libido and keep from producing offspring - their their miserable life is your crime, not someone else's.
Also, Whereas Barrack Obama has managed to put on a sauve exterior - Michelle Obama is the quntessential 'black' activist liberal - the female version of Jackson/Sharpton - hating society and this country for everything that it has given to her. Sugarcoat it all you wanr but her quote verbatim was 'For the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I am proud of America'.
Yeah right she said it wrt political mobilization - just like Bill Clinton never had sex with the Lewinsky chick.
I haven't been lucky (or of the right color) to go to Harvard, Princeton or Yals but still do not hate the country of begrudge everyone else like she does.
Posted by Bugs Meany , Mar 03, 2008 6:09PM
Wanna fight poverty? It's not that hard; just tell people that the best way to avoid poverty is not to have children out of wedlock.
Of course, the Democrat base doesn't want to hear an answer that doesn't involve redistributing wealth.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 6:54PM
At least Michelle has a plan. it's not a very fair one, but it's a plan.
The Obamanator is going to educate everyone, solve global warming, and get us out of the war without causing international strife immediately, without any in-between steps.
his fingers will snap, indie rock will play, and all will be right with the world.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 8:53PM
hey Bugs: check out 6:46 Exhibit B of a typical republican no nothing airbag. You're exhibit A.
Posted by guest , Mar 03, 2008 10:41PM
Really a very nicely done article, very subtle - most of the work was done by the reality of what MO said. Have to love her firm grasp of modern life and economics, as in "the money-making industry" vs. the "helping industry".
MO, your economic insight is awesome, and you and BO deserve to be in the White House!
Posted by guest , Mar 04, 2008 8:04AM
Ah, people, who cares about Obama, he's old news. I am voting Republican and hope that so do the majority in our country. When the Kennedys start supporting Obamas, you know that either the Dem establishment lost its mind or the Clintos really really pissed off the Kennedys. And no one cares about the Kennedys much either. In comparison with all the Dem clowns, John McCain does come across as the hero.
Posted by guest , Mar 04, 2008 8:53AM
I had a dream, where I was sitting in a bar with Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. Cindy slipped and called Michelle "Omarosa." Boy did the shizz hit the fizzle then. Omaros-errr-I-mean Michelle Obama then said she had a "headache" and stormed out of the bar and Cindy McCain asked me if I wanted to "pop another valium" with her, then she told me that Omaro-errr-Michelle had downed three martinis and said that she "didn't want to live in a world where a blonde bitch with no qualifications could grow up to be first lady."
Omarosa Obama, the Black Hitlery Clinton.
Posted by guest , Mar 04, 2008 1:07PM
Wait, where was she saying don't go to college? I think she was suggesting that more black people try to build up their community in less-glamorous jobs.
Last I checked, you can't become a nurse straight out of high school.
Posted by guest , Mar 04, 2008 7:44PM
....she thinks who the hell she is!!
Posted by guest , Mar 04, 2008 7:46PM
...she thinks who the hell she is!
Posted by guest , Mar 22, 2008 11:19AM
Update. Now that Barak Hussein Obama's poll numbers are in the shitter, we won't need to worry about having an ungrateful negress ho in the White House. That asshole Obama and that clown Hillary are now both unelectable.
Posted by guest , Mar 26, 2008 1:38PM
I love this thread! John you are funny. I can't believe you're going to let "ungrateful negress ho" stand though. You definitely should talk to one of those hos who run this site about restricting comments and membership from the poors.
@ 5:46, you haven't been the right color or the right species to attend Harvard, Princeton or Yale. Having the intelligence of an autistic primate has clearly hindered your cause. Please stay away from Wall St.. Pine St., Gold St., or any other surrounding St.'s.
Barack Obama will be the next pres. If he'd come up here to Wall St. with all that scintillating mojo/brains etc., he'd already be worth a few hundred million. But the downside of that thought experiment is that had he brought his considerable talents to the private sector in NY, I might have snuck off with Michelle for a week or so and had my way with her, not so much because she's hawt ('cause she is, sorta), but mostly just because that's what I do to married womens. The riches and the middle classes ones, but never the poors.
Well. Now that I've spoken my piece, I guess it's back to whatever hotel lobby bar I've chosen this week until the Pierre returns...
Posted by guest , Jun 18, 2008 11:18AM
I am for Obama but Michelle, that Negress, makes me uneasy. The thought of that baby's momma in the White House would have our founding fathers turning over in their graves.
Posted by guest , Aug 25, 2008 4:34PM
Michelle Obama is definitely a Negress, while Barack himself is more of an Oreo. Labels, true, but fitting.
It is rather spectacular that a couple of African Americans or whatever you want to call them will soon be in the WHITE House. Just a crazy testament to these times.
Posted by guest , Oct 02, 2008 2:19PM
Michelle's clearly not asking people to forego college; she is perhaps responding to the fact that the majority of Ivy graduates end up going into ib and consulting (and the smarter ones end up in pe and hedge funds)--paths that make good money for the individuals that choose to take them and, well, that's pretty much it. Don't be a right-wing prick (or read them and unquestioningly post that bullshit on your blog) and deliberately misstate her comments.
A lot of people want to have it all, but business is not about anything other than money. All evidence to the contrary is just window dressing.
On the other hand, working as a teacher blows, and not just because of the pay. Parents, administrators, misbehaving, unresponsive kids. Screw all that. Similar problems abound in any career path and corporate life isn't the only place where one encounters the douchebags, so I think a lot of us play it safe and choose to make money for ourselves and contribute to the community, mostly financially, in the manner of our choosing.
I actually hate both of these options. I'll take my corporate blood money and put it at risk with my own venture sometime in the next five years.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:44PM
And the largest run-on sentence award goes to?
::Smiles:: ... "THE FIRST PARAGRAPH!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcsrtsybkgk