We have children or grandchildren. We buy into the American vision of a meritocracy. We want our children to go to the very best, most competitive college or university. Then go on to the very best graduate school. That will put them on the road to a good life. So we think. Let us look at the presidential candidates in that light:
Cory Booker is the winner. He went to Stanford, got a BA and an MA. Won a Rhodes Scholarship. Went to the Queens College at Oxford. Topped it off with a law degree from Yale Law School.
Others are competitive:
Michael Bennet went to Wesleyan and then to Yale Law School. (Remember his dad was President of Wesleyan.)
Steve Bullock went to Claremont McKenna College and Columbia Law School (McKenna is a competitive, small west coast college, in a league with Wesleyan)
Pete Buttigieg went to Harvard. He won a Rhodes Scholarship and went to Pembroke College at Oxford University.
Julian Castro went to Stanford University and then to Harvard Law School
John Delaney went to Columbia University and then to Georgetown University Law School.
John Hickenlooper went to Wesleyan University where he got a BA and an MA.
Amy Klobuchar went to Yale University and then to The University of Chicago Law School.
Andrew Yang went to Brown University and then to Columbia Law School.
Let us add three more to the list that would have pleased meritocratic parents:
Bill de Blasio went to NYU (not nearly as strong as it is today) and then got an MA from Columbia University
Kirsten Gilligrand went to Ivy League Dartmouth University and then to the UCLA School of Law (also not as strong as it is today)
Kamala Harris went to Howard University (part of her commitment to identifying as African-American) and then to the Hasting College of Law at the University of California (then and now among the best law schools in the country)
Three more went to competitive colleges, but got no further degree:
Seth Moulton went to Harvard University and then into the military.
Beto O’Rourke went to Columbia University and then on the road with his band.
Bernie Sanders went to the University of Chicago (transferring from Brooklyn College) and then went on to Vermont.
One candidate who would not qualify in the college meritocratic race
Marianne Williamson went to Pomona College (certainly competitive), but dropped out after two years.
People express hope that public schools would be the place where those of all classes and races come together. Public universities come pretty close to doing just that. Meritocratic parents can watch to see how their kids are doing, while going to the state university earns blue collar credibility.
Joe Biden is a great example. He went to the University of Delaware and on to Syracuse University Law School.
Jay Inslee, too. He went to the University of Washington and on to Willamette University College of Law
Wayne Messam went to Florida State University where he was an outstanding football player on an outstanding football team.
Eric Swalwell transferred to the University of Maryland after an injury prevented him from playing soccer with a scholarship. He got a BA and then went to the University of Maryland Law School
Others have genuine blue collar credibility, attending schools that would not gain the attention of meritocratic parents.
Tulsi Gabbard went to Hawaii Pacific University, the closest to a regular educational institution she had come. Homeschooled, she did have two high school years in a missionary school in the Phillipines.
Mike Gravel received a BA from the Columbia University School of General Studies after a year at Assumption College, another year at American International College, and after being in the military.
Time Ryan transferred to Bowling Green State University after an injury prevented him from playing football. He went on to the Franklin Pierce Law Center.
Elizabeth Warren went to the University of Houston and on to the Rutgers University Law School (following her first husband in his career).