Dennis RomeroWe've seen the photos of President Obama during his L.A. college years. He's got some hair. And his pants had flair. And, well, he even admitted to smoking “reefer” in his 1995 memoir.
Yeah, we even imagine a “bow-chica-bow-wow” soundtrack following the future president named Barry as he strutted on the Eagle Rock campus of Occidental College.
Heck, it was 1979, the era (and not far from the area, San Diego) that spawned Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Everyone was high. Unfortunately, successfully rebutted on the birther issue, Donald Trump now wants to see the president's L.A. school records.
His reasoning is that Obama couldn't have possibly gotten to Harvard without special help.
You know, this is the old anti-affirmative action argument (because white guys like Donald never got a break in life). Props to Face the Nation's Bob Schieffer (whose brother has been in the local news lately). He said of Trump's grade challenge: “That's just code for saying he got into law school because he's black. This is an ugly strain of racism that's running through this whole thing.”
Time magazine:
OMG, is that Barry?
Trump declared that Obama needs to release his Occidental College school records, to dispel rumors that he was a bad student who did not deserve a transfer to Columbia University, and later acceptance to Harvard Law School, where he edited the law review and was widely praised by his teachers and peers as a standout intellect. “How do you get into Harvard if you are not a good student?” Trump said. “I don't know why he doesn't release his records.”
Okay, Donald, we'll push the prez to let us see his precious report cards if you show us all the loan documents that helped make you the ultimate on-paper millionaire, at least early in your own career as a hollow mogul.
And let's be fair here: Obama was performing as part of a peer group that partied, got stoned and rocked out perhaps more than any other. In fact 1979 was a peak year for American marijuana use among young people. The future president fit in just fine.
Today's millennial kids, with their 4.0+ GPAs (unheard of in those days) and pushy, doting parents (of Obama's generation, ironically) who don't take Bs for an answer from teachers, are products of grade inflation.
So, to account for that, lets consider the grade deflation of Obama's days, when otherwise bright people killed many a brain cell and listened to too much Zep. That's like a 4.5 GPA by today's measuring stick.
And hey, the guy did alright. At least he still has his real hair.
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