Young Turks: Rand Paul caught lying about his college record

Rand Paul is a Doctor. Walker doesn't even have a college degree. On the other hand, George Bush has a masters degree. Shockingly, Obama is supposed to be a Constitutional Scholar.
 
If those were the best examples TYT had, this one is weaselable - the implication is clear but there's no direct statement "I have a degree in biology", he can simply say those were his concentrations as an undergrad, minor kerfluffle ensues and passes and is forgotten. Digging in to a false position would compound the error so it's good he didn't do that.
 
thoughtomator said:
If those were the best examples TYT had, this one is weaselable - the implication is clear but there's no direct statement "I have a degree in biology", he can simply say those were his concentrations as an undergrad, minor kerfluffle ensues and passes and is forgotten. Digging in to a false position would compound the error so it's good he didn't do that.
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A new talking point for foaming-at-the-mouth-liberals.
 
thoughtomator said:
If those were the best examples TYT had, this one is weaselable - the implication is clear but there's no direct statement "I have a degree in biology"
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No, in the second quote they cite in the video he literally says: "This is just me. I have a biology degree, okay? But with Bitcoin my concern always was whether or not something has real value."

I assume he says this because it's a lot simpler than saying "I was working on a biology degree in undergrad" but this is really sloppy to be going around saying things. I mean I was a few credits short of finishing a second major in English when I was in college, and sometimes it's useful to mention my English background in discussions/debates, but I've never once in all the years crossed the line of actually shorthanding it by saying I have a degree in English. I say things like "I was an English major or I was a few credits short of a degree in English, etc." To do otherwise...it's like saying "I'm a college graduate" when in fact you dropped out a semester short of graduation. It's really not okay to say things like that.

I'm sorry but this is a really foolish thing for Rand to be saying and nobody "accidentally" claims to have degrees. If this kind of behavior becomes par for the course I'm very concerned about the presidential campaign.
 
Meh. It's really no different than what we saw when everyone was screaming for Obama's birth certificate. Right? Birthers, I think they called them?

Personally, I don't care what kind of science degree he has. I'd be content to hear an official position on science itself from him given the fact that he may wish to lead in an era where it often premises legislation that affects me. Can we get that? That's not asking a lot, is it?
 
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Natural Citizen said:
Meh. It's really no different than what we saw when everyone was screaming for Obama's birth certificate. Right? Birthers, I think they called them?
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Rand's spokesperson has since admitted that Rand misspoke and does not have undergraduate degrees. This is a case of Rand for some bizarre reason thinking that he can say he has degrees he doesn't have and think the media won't (rightly) jump all over him for it.

I mean unless the secret strategy is to keep planting little easter eggs in his speeches that will turn into mini-scandals to keep him in the news cycle -- which, hey, maybe that's exactly what he's doing -- but otherwise it just seems mindbogglingly foolish.

The problem with this sort of behavior is, somebody sees a true story about Rand doing something silly like claiming to have undergraduate degrees he doesn't have, and then they see a story, for example, about him being a "self-certified opthamologist," which is an instance where he didn't do anything wrong, and they presume that all the nasty things being said about him starting his ophtamology board to avoid re-certifying and they presume his critics are right and it doesn't seem so far-fetched when you're talking about a guy who is so blatant as to claim to have degrees he doesn't have.
 
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economics102 said:
Rand's spokesperson has since admitted that Rand misspoke and does not have undergraduate degrees. This is a case of Rand for some bizarre reason thinking that he can say he has degrees he doesn't have and think the media won't (rightly) jump all over him for it.

I mean unless the secret strategy is to keep planting little easter eggs in his speeches that will turn into mini-scandals to keep him in the news cycle -- which, hey, maybe that's exactly what he's doing -- but otherwise it just seems mindbogglingly foolish.

The problem with this sort of behavior is, somebody sees a true story about Rand doing something silly like claiming to have undergraduate degrees he doesn't have, and then they see a story, for example, about him being a "self-certified opthamologist," which is an instance where he didn't do anything wrong, and they presume that all the nasty things being said about him starting his ophtamology board to avoid re-certifying and they presume his critics are right and it doesn't seem so far-fetched when you're talking about a guy who is so blatant as to claim to have degrees he doesn't have.
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I wouldn't worry about it, really. When he gets nailed he'll be nailed on the tuff stuff. And it won't come from any of the entertainment news platforms. Of course, he'll likely be given a fair shake with regard to his policy positions that mainstream and entertainment media simply do not go anywhere near. That is where the real conflict will come into play with regard to the critical terms of controversy versus the Mickey Mouse nonsense. And he can step back and let that conflict evolve. Best to wait and see what he's going to do. He'd do well to make wise decisions when it comes to aligning with media. Let's see how smart he is.
 
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economics102 said:
Rand's spokesperson has since admitted that Rand misspoke and does not have undergraduate degrees. This is a case of Rand for some bizarre reason thinking that he can say he has degrees he doesn't have and think the media won't (rightly) jump all over him for it.
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CPUd said:
The focus is on his undergraduate coursework, where he didn't graduate.
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He didn't graduate from school A.
He had to make up the missing coursework at school B before or maybe concurrently in order to be accepted into the med school program. There is no way around that. He might not have been issued a diploma and gone through a graduation ceremony because of how it went down, but he technically has the degree the second he made up the missing credits and got accepted to med school.

He has the degree.

-t
 
tangent4ronpaul said:
He didn't graduate from school A.
He had to make up the missing coursework at school B before or maybe concurrently in order to be accepted into the med school program. There is no way around that. He might not have been issued a diploma and gone through a graduation ceremony because of how it went down, but he technically has the degree the second he made up the missing credits and got accepted to med school.

He has the degree.

-t
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He was accepted into medical school before finishing the degree based on his test results.
 
tangent4ronpaul said:
He didn't graduate from school A.
He had to make up the missing coursework at school B before or maybe concurrently in order to be accepted into the med school program. There is no way around that.
-t
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I forget where but I read that at that time Duke did not requrie a completed biology degree for medical school. I wish there was a good explanation for why he claimed to have the degrees but I'm not seeing it.
 
tangent4ronpaul said:
He didn't graduate from school A.
He had to make up the missing coursework at school B before or maybe concurrently in order to be accepted into the med school program. There is no way around that. He might not have been issued a diploma and gone through a graduation ceremony because of how it went down, but he technically has the degree the second he made up the missing credits and got accepted to med school.

He has the degree.

-t
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This would be a likely scenario.
 
Rudeman said:
Is he applying for a position that requires a biology degree?
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Rand is applying for a position that requires being perceived as trustworthy. Claiming to have a degree you don't have doesn't help with that. Honestly if I didn't know better and I saw a story like this I would probably lump Rand in with all the other politicians I don't trust.
 
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I don't know his specific scenario, but where I got my undergrad, they had programs in chem engineering and pre-med where you could get a modified degree in 3 years, then move on to grad school. The college still gave you the degree.
 
tangent4ronpaul said:
If he tested out, that is still a degree. He got the credits.

-t
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Passing the MCAT doesn't necessarily mean he got the biology credits needed to get a biology degree. But completing medical school tells anyone who is not biased or stupid that he definitely got the requirements there. I think the main point of this story is that Rand should be very careful with the words he says cos there are research teams from The Rachel Maddow Show, Thinkprogress, Media Matters, DNC, RNC, talk radio group etc etc sieving through every word that comes out of his mouth to catch him on a lie. And technically the statement he made was a lie cos he doesn't have a bachelors of science diploma to his name

The good thing is that this is a white lie, he didn't say he got a BC to somehow bolster his academic credentials because he already has something way superior which is a doctorate. But there are people out there looking for a reason to hate him and this kind of event is just giving them ammunition. Technicality be damned, he should stop creating this sort of stories.
 
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