Its Part of Your Pay Grade

Recently after all the brouhaha concerning Barack Obama's birth certificate several well known celebrities have attributed racism as the reason for also wanting to see his college records. They say that those of us who want to see those records want to diminish his accomplishments by finding out if he obtained his advance degrees as a result of affirmative action polices.

For God's sake nothing could be further from the truth. He is the first African American to become President of the United States. There is nothing that can diminish that accomplishment for himself or for our nation. If indeed he obtained Presidency with the help of affirmative action then there can be no higher praise given to that program.

I am 53 years old and no one really cares if I made an F in differential equations at WV Tech 33 years ago. If I apply for a job the fact that I have college degree may be verified but my grade transcripts never will be looked at. Not so for anyone who becomes President of the United States. In two hundred years the signed credit card receipt from Bed Bath and Beyond by Barack Obama may be priceless. Book shelves ( If books still exist) will be filled with books chronicling every event in Mr. Obama's life.

The fact is when anyone becomes President their life becomes an open book and we suddenly take an interest in their life both public and private. I don't care if Mr. Obama made a C in American history but I definitely would care if he took multiple classes from professors who were known to be political extremists or if his writings in college expressed views which are far out of the political mainstream. .

During the 2008 presidential campaign when asked about at what point a baby gets “human rights,” Obama ,said: “… whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.”

As part and parcel to the pay grade of President of the United States and we should expect nothing more or less than total access to all his college records.

A Voice In the Wilderness