RSS
Home
CNN distorts Obama honorary degree controversy
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Arizona State University declined to offer President Obama an honorary degree when he speaks at the ASU commencement ceremony. Instead it decided to award a scholarship in his name. The reasons that ASU did not award an honorary degree should be clear to everyone even though Mark Preston, CNN's political "analyst" seems to have missed the point.
Preston wrote:
"Arizona State University's refusal last week to present an honorary degree to President Obama cast an unnecessary dark cloud over the school and forced officials to do something they apparently were trying to avoid: recognize the president for his accomplishments"
The problem of course with this "analysis" is that President Obama doesn't have any accomplishments outside the fulfilling of his own political ambitions. At least not yet.
In 12 years of elected office in both the Illinois State legislature and in the US Senate Obama didn't accomplish a thing. In fact in a famous ( or infamous) quote, published by a Chicago Tribune journalist. Obama, while at a book signing for one of his books turned to the journalist and said, "maybe I ought to go back to the Senate and actually do something".
During his time in the Illinois Senate Obama set a record for voting "present" over 100 times, meaning he didn't vote for or against anything. A good way to maintain political neutrality but not conducive to accomplishing anything.
In the US Senate there were no bills with his name on them.
ASU obviously is taking the position similar to that of Obama in Chicago. In order to get an honorary degree you actually have to do something to earn it. Simply getting elected isn't enough.
To further distort the story, when ASU decided to award a scholarship instead, sticking to its guns not to award Obama an honorary degree when there as yet hasn't been any accomplishment to deserve it, CNN ran the headline,
"Arizona State apologizes for degree flap, honors Obama".
When you read the story you find out that ASU is not apologizing for not giving Obama an honorary degree but ASU President Michael Crow apologized for "any confusion" surrounding ASU's invitation to Obama to speak at the commencement. without being given an honorary degree which was never intended but which was assumed by everyone else.
Both Preston at CNN and their Political Ticker seem to think that an honorary degree should be awarded just for showing up while ASU is obviously sticking to what it thinks are standards that govern getting a degree at ASU whether a student or President of the United States.
Unfortunately for Preston and CNN they seem to have no such standards themselves.
More About:
Obama
Related Articles:
Comments
.jpg)
President Obama has offered to hold bipartisan healthcare reform talks and that they be televised. The meeting, scheduled to last 4 to 6 hours is to …
Sinclair Lewis said if fascism ever comes to America it will come wrapped in the flag. Though the neo-fascists at the Tea Party convention will never …
