Is it me or do people seem to gratuitously refer to Obama's "Ivy League education?" I'm no expert on the subtleties of racial politics, but this seems frighteningly similar to the "articulate" label. I guess it could just be a way to tag him as liberal, but even that is pretty hypocritical (see stats below).
Here's an example from Juan Williams -- himself non-white:
Most American voters know him only as a fresh face with an Ivy League education, an outstanding credential – editor of the Harvard Law Review – an exciting speaker, and a man who stands for much-desired change.
But the article is all about Rev. Wright, race, and Obama. Although the Ivy League bit may seem innocuous (though irrelevant to the greater point) is it really ever relevant? Check this out:
This [2004] will be the 22nd presidential election that will be won by an Ivy Leaguer in the 12th election that pits a Leaguer against another. That does not separate the two times an Ivy Leaguer beat two Ivy Leaguers. Regardless of the 2004 winner, the Ivy League will have posted a 22-31 record in presidential elections (that includes 21-21 since a rough start in the 18th century). The League is an impressive 16-12 since the 20th century began. Ten of those 12 losses have come to another Ivy Leaguer.
(Ivy League Sports)
So, since 1900, only twice has an Ivy Leaguer lost the presidency to a heathen (er, non-Ivy Leaguer). And they've won 16 out of 27, so about 60% of the time. Including Bush, the consummate anti-intellectual.
Here's some hard data (courtesy of Lexis):
In the December through May of their respective primary fights:
- "George Bush" appears near "Ivy League" in 39 news stories.
- "Gore" appears near "Ivy League" 17 times.
- "Kerry" near "Ivy League" 53 times.
- "Hillary Clinton" near "Ivy League" 49 times.
- "Obama" near "Ivy League" 158 times.
Obviously this is far from complete or scientific. And note, I always used last names only in the proximity search, but seeded the search with full names in the case of George Bush and Hillary Clinton, but didn't do anything to weed out references to HW.