WH issued the statement about Malia without fanfare or advance notice

[kpete]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/us/politics/malia-obama-to-attend-harvard-but-not-until-2017.html?_r=0

[TDale313]

1. Good for her. Congrats! n/t

[malaise]

2. Sweet

especially the gap year - outside of the bubble

[Hekate]

3. Lovely to see the girls growing up like this.

[FailureToCommunicate]

4. Congrats to Malia! And a gap year is a smart move.

[Helen Borg]

5. That is great but...

there is no way Harvard would ever reject the son or daughter of a US Prez.

[hunter]

14. I'm certain she's qualified and didn't displace anyone more deserving.

Half the students at any prestigious school like Harvard are ass-hats who make babies cry.

She's not going to be one of them.

[Zen Democrat]

17. She could have gone anywhere. I'm sure Harvard is extremely happy that she accepted their offer.

[eggplant]

21. What exactly is your point? That she didn't deserve to get in? n/t

[Skittles]

34. the point is there was no way she would not get in

qualified or not

[eggplant]

38. But to suggest that she isn't qualified with no evidence to back it up is a nasty smear.

Why shit on her? From all appearances she's a smart kid. I would imagine that with her parents she put in the time.

[Skittles]

41. they didn't suggest she's not qualified

just that in her case, qualifications are secondary to her surname

[eggplant]

45. yea, they did. Right when they said "but". n/t

[Skittles]

51. ALRIGHTY THEN

[rock]

56. Now Skittles

You're making me side with a Bernie supporter: Helen Borg's statement is meaningless unless it is a dig.

[George II]

66. Chalk it up to abject envy on the part of some here. Sad they can't applaud accomplishment, eh?

[Skittles]

82. complete, total fucking bullshit

the Obamas understand, which is why there was no "fanfare" - why can't you?

*DONE HERE*

[La Lioness Priyanka]

25. What is your point here?

[davidn3600]

71. No college is going to refuse the child a US president....that's reality

If she's qualified, fine. And no one has said that she isn't. I don't know what her grades or scores were compared to others that applied. But you seriously believe any college in this nation would say no to her? I mean lets be real here.

Good for her. But as with most of these elite schools, admission is many times based on who you are or who you know and not always based on your grades or your SAT scores. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

72. What do you mean if she is qualified?

Both her parents went to Ivy League schools, she got a great education and a lot of exposure to the world. What exactly would make her not qualified?

These posts implying that she may not be qualified, or that she got in simply because of her last name or that others with similar test scores got rejected are racist af.

[betsuni]

73. "but" "if" -- implying that the main reason for acceptance is being the child of a president.

She's perfect Ivy League material without the president thing even entering into it. What the hell. This like the Obama-needs-a-teleprompter-because-he's-dumb right-wing "joke" that lasted years.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

78. Exactly. Her parents both got in without having

Presidential parents

[NoMoreRepugs]

101. ding ding ding we have a winner here thanks LLP

why the F#$% does everyone have to have an opinion about EVERYTHING I sometimes ask myself. Can't some things just be taken at face value - say 'good for her' ' who cares?' let it pass like air thru your head - but oh no, we have to break it down and raise the ire of others over absolutely nothing - do some of you not see the real world around you? Plenty of real things to get your hackles up about - sheesh

[davidn3600]

75. You just pretty much said it...

She has two parents that went to Ivy League schools. She's wealthy. Her father is President of the United States. She's already seen more of the world than 99% of people will ever see in their lifetimes.

I guarantee that admissions committee stamped that application "APPROVED" without even looking at her grades.

But good for her...

[JI7]

76. her parents got in those schools and they did not have rich and famous parents

[davidn3600]

77. I never said her parents weren't qualified

But Barack Obama had a VERY different childhood than Malia has had. He was self-made. Malia isn't any different than Chelsea. They grew up in wealth and power and never experienced any hardships that normal people go through.

But anyone who knows anything about how college admissions work knows there is a very strong element of nepotism involved. Children of rich or famous parents tend to always get into the best schools with very little trouble. It doesn't mean every student there has rich parents. Admissions committees try to diversify the class and take all sorts of income levels and backgrounds. But they won't reject powerful families. It improves the schools reputation when such people go there.

[Kingofalldems]

103. Not surprised at your post.

Was expecting it actually.

[LannyDeVaney]

35. Wow

[link:|

[safeinOhio]

6. I took a

30 year gap year and it did me good.

[SoapBox]

9. ...

[2naSalit]

11. Mine was

25 years and I skipped right over the high school part so I guess it was almost 30 years.

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Good luck, Miss Obama

!!

[FairWinds]

8. Congrats to Malia, wish her the best . .

but all young folks should have access to quality education
that does not bankrupt them or their families.

It is totally unacceptable that the federal government made
$ 41 BILLION IN PROFIT on student loans in 2013.

and since Obama's Dept. of Ed man, Arne Duncan, was always
backing those fly-by-night proprietary colleges,

why didn't Malia go to one of those?

Really, nothing against Ms. M, but I'm really upset at the
Obama admin's educational policies.

End of rant.

[shraby]

10. Let's face it. To some people, if all the Obamas could walk on water, they would say it's

because they never learned to swim.

[passiveporcupine]

28. And to be true, to some people

All Obamas walk on water. In which case, include me, because I think they are a fabulous family and I know both the girls will be a great success at whatever they do.

That was sarcasm though...the walking on water part. I don't know of anyone who hates the Obama girls. I don't really know very many who dislike their parents. If they do, it's misplaced anger.

[George II]

13. This isn't the place for such a rant, you should post it in your own OP. Thanks.

[cui bono]

39. You are not the DU police.

Much as you'd like to be with your alert stalking that you boast about elsewhere.

.

[George II]

40. Alert stalking?

[malokvale77]

48. Believe it or not, this was alerted on.

I will post the results when I get them.

DU has become a very sad place.

[malokvale77]

53. Results of really dumb alert...

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service

Mail Message
On Sun May 1, 2016, 08:38 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

You are not the DU police.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7795915

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

No comments added by alerter

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun May 1, 2016, 09:19 PM, and the Jury voted 2-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Well, we are the police. Really, it was uncalled for.

Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Personal attack.
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Stalk, alert and no explanation for the alert. Thanks Skinner.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Duckhunter935]

55. Please quit with the bullying

This is an open forum and not your special closed group.

[George II]

61. Bullying? Me? Perhaps you guys should stop denigrating the accomplishments of...

....the daughter of our President.

Now, please explain how my comments are "bullying". Thank you.

[Duckhunter935]

64. Who is denigrating her accomplishments?

The tone your directions to that poster are condescending and and in my opinion bullying

[stonecutter357]

93. umadbro?

[Duckhunter935]

94. No, why do you ask?

I just think bullying is wrong

[underahedgerow]

26. You should be much more upset at the obstructionist Republicans who have blocked every

single effort made by the Obama administration to improve educational opportunities for the citizens of the USA (and every single other thing as well of course).

There isn't a human alive who is more passionate about education than this President. Point your upset at the guilty obstructionist Republicans, not Obama, ok?

[roody]

47. There are many people more passionate

than the president. Many are teachers, and Obama's ed policies have made their jobs more difficult.

[underahedgerow]

79. Ok, go ahead, be angry. He's not going to be running for re-election anyway.

Education changes come from within the community, not from the White House. When paid school boards get dismissed and parents become more active in their children's education as a dominant sector of the community, then you'll see some real changes.

Until then, blame everyone else.

[roody]

107. Not angry here. That's just the way it is.

I taught for the reward of seeing the children grow.

[FairWinds]

98. You are quite correct that the Republicans are beyond despicable . .

when it comes to education. I and many others point that out
at every opportunity.

But that does not mean we should give Pres. Obama a pass on
that or any other issue, no matter how much we like him personally.

His education policies have been awful, and there also appears to be
large-scale corruption in the Dept of Ed.

(If it makes any difference to you, I live in Ohio, ground zero for
charter school corruption.)

[George II]

12. That's great. Another lawyer/potential politician in the family?

[Jitter65]

15. Congratulations to Malia and her parents.

Good work, good fortune, good health and good times.

[YOHABLO]

31. Such a reflection of middle America .. you know, two parents, highly educated, we all go to Harvard

[waddirum]

59. I'm not sure how you can make the leap from

choosing Harvard for undergraduate education and becoming a lawyer or politician.

How do you know that she won't be pre-med?

[George II]

62. My ignore list just grew by one.

[Duckhunter935]

65. Must be getting huge

I am proud, I have nobody on ignore. I do no have to bury my head from others I do not agree with.

[LibDemAlways]

16. Wish her well. This, however, is an

illustration of why Hillary's argument against tuition free public education is ridiculous. People like the Obamas, Clintons, and the Trumps of the world don't send their kids to public colleges. It's Harvard, Stanford, etc. for them.

Using the excuse that the wealthy can afford to pay for college to deny a tuition free public school education to everybody else is just plain stupid. And it is economically feasible if we rearrange our priorities a little to make it happen.

[Zen Democrat]

20. Lynda Bird Johnson and Jenna Bush went to the University of Texas.

But, that's Austin so these are exceptions.

[LibDemAlways]

24. I assume the Bush and Johnson families paid

taxes in Texas to finance public education, so I'm fine with their kids attending the public university there. It's important that public universities be a level playing field in terms of accessibility. No worthy student should be turned away because of inability to pay.

[Califonz]

86. UT Austin is the Haaavaaad of Texas

party on!

[silverweb]

23. So true!

[George II]

42. When did Clinton "argue against tuition free public education"?

How do you know that Malia Obama didn't win a scholastic scholarship?

I came from a lower middle class family and was able to go to one of the top 10 engineering colleges in the nation. Had I not earned admission SCHOLASTICALLY, I probably wouldn't have gone to college at all.

[Duckhunter935]

57. Pie in the sky

Bernie giving away free stuff, I wonder, mmmm

[NJCher]

58. Do you ever read the articles that are posted here?

Because just the other day one was posted about who gets into these schools and it's all about money.

I'm not saying Malia got in because of $$ , but that ability to pay is the first thing they look at.

Fortunately, according to the article, there are organizations (Cooper) working to mitigate that.

You might try reading some of the articles people here post.

Cher

[George II]

63. Do you ever celebrate accomplishment and achievement? You're "not saying".....but you are.

[NJCher]

68. A lot more than you do, I'm sure

As a college teacher, I see it on a routine basis. When I give an A or a B, I am acknowledging achievement.

Cher

[pnwmom]

74. Her plan would help lower and middle income go to schools like this more than Bernie's would.

She wants to extend financial aid in the form of grants to cover tuition in private and public schools for students who NEED it.

Bernie would offer free tuition for everyone, no matter how wealthy, but only at public schools.

[mountain grammy]

18. Congratulations to the Obama's and especially Malia!

[SunSeeker]

19. Congratulations Malia!

[aikoaiko]

22. Best wishes to her. May her education be awesome.

[Duckhunter935]

27. Congratualations to her

but really, was there any doubt?

Too bad all with the same scores as her will not get in

[George II]

44. "Too bad all with the same scores as her will not get in"

And you know that how? Have you seen her high school grades and SAT scores?

[Duckhunter935]

49. I am quite sure

There are others that have the same scores that had been not accepted out of the tens of thousands that apply. Nothing against her, like I said congratulations, she is one smart young lady. I do not think she would ever have been denied entry.

[George II]

50. So you're essentially saying you don't know for sure how she matched up against other applicants.

[Duckhunter935]

54. And either do you

I do know many do not get accepted

[cui bono]

70. Are you really that naive to not know that nepotism goes a long way to getting into private

universities? I'm not saying that happened in this case but of course it does happen. Everyone knows that. Well... almost everyone.



.

[AgadorSparticus]

80. It is not all about test scores or GPA to get into a school like this.

They look at your extra curricular activities, volunteerism, accomplishments, etc. as well. This young lady showed poise, confidence, and courage on a national and international stage. She could write a book on her experiences and who she has met. How many "similar scores" can say that? She went to an elite academic school and partially homeschooled. She has had access to excellent educational experiences. What part of any of this would not make her highly competitive on her OWN merits?

[elleng]

29. 'When she arrives at Harvard, Malia will join a long list of presidential children

who have attended, including John Quincy Adams and his son, John Adams II; Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert; the sons of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt; Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy; and George W. Bush, who went to business school there.'

[FourScore]

30. Congratulations to Malia, although I wish she could join my son at Cornell next year instead!!

We could not convince him to take a gap year!

[elleng]

32. Good idea for several reasons:

She'll help them get in and settle into their new DC digs (wherever it may be.) We 'locals' will be very interested in that!

[Skittles]

33. lol

I didn't even have to go past one guess

[mnhtnbb]

36. No word about what she plans to do in her gap year.

It will be interesting to see what she chooses to do with that time.

[cui bono]

37. Why do they announce this at all?

I'm sure it would be found out, but isn't it better to just not say anything, for safety's sake?

.

[KamaAina]

43. It should have been part of the Friday news dump.

Brokenhearted Yale '85 here.

[SaschaHM]

46. I was hoping that she would go to my alma mater, Yale.

I'm as happy for her as I can ever be for someone going to Harvard (rivalry-wise).

[JudyM]

97. Oh, were you. Transparent much?

[fleur-de-lisa]

100. Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

On Mon May 2, 2016, 03:05 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Oh, were you. Transparent much?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7796745

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Nothing but an attack on another poster.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Mon May 2, 2016, 03:14 PM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Meh ... leave it.
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Grow some skin and look up the meaning of sarcasm
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

[Thinkingabout]

52. Congratulations Malia, I am happy for her, she hasworked hard and kept her nose clean.

The Obama's worked hard to give responsibility to their daughters and grandmother helped also.

[keithbvadu2]

60. Malia is going to Harvard while the Bush twins went to bars for underage drinking.

Malia is going to Harvard while the Bush twins went to bars for underage drinking.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2002/06/28/bush-twins-are-at-it-again.html

[AgadorSparticus]

81. You know, that's grossly unfair to the Bush twins. Every person is different.

If they chose to go to UT and drink their freshman year, that is their choice. I did that and did 1,000's of other kids. I think they did well and lord knows, I am no fan of their father.

[JI7]

84. Jenna went to UT , Barbara went to Yale

[Skittles]

83. stop it

one had BARACK OBAMA for a father and the others had DUBYA

and WHAT is wrong with going to UT???

[gwheezie]

87. The Bush girls were pretty well behaved

Even at the time when Bush was president and I hated him, I thought his daughters acted kinda tame. And I thought Laura was fine as a 1st lady. I can't imagine growing up in the white house.
I hated Bush almost as much as I hated Reagan. I hated him, he ruinned the country
His daughters reminded me of some kids I used to teach horse back riding to. I remember 14 year olds parents went with her to Europe and paid for a trainer to go with them to buy a horse this kid could have a pony. And they expected to pay 100k for it. I used to teach the girl and she really was a nice kid, just spoiled and had no clue this wasn't normal. But really acted like a 14 year old when she got together with friends at the barn. I don't blame her and frankly if I had money like that, my kid would have gone to Europe at 14 too.

[Nye Bevan]

67. I'm not sure why so many are saying "congratulations".

Any university would have accepted her just because of who her father is, regardless of GPA, extracurriculars, and so on. Kids from poor families who get into Harvard based upon their actual achievements, without being able to take advantage of their family name or connections, actually deserve to be congratulated. All Malia had to do was send in the application and she was guaranteed to be accepted.

[Helen Borg]

90. I agree. But lots of people disagree.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7794901

[LanternWaste]

99. Civility and good manners, I would guess

' I'm not sure why so many are saying "congratulations"'

Civility and good manners, I would guess... as opposed to implication and resentment. The jaundiced-eye denies the ability of the youth of successful families to earn anything and implies as such.

[Nye Bevan]

105. In case she reads DU? (nt)

[gwheezie]

108. Look at how many dumbasses the rich have produced

Trump for instance.

[gwheezie]

85. She grew up before our eyes.

Smart to take the year off, just getting over being the daughter of the president requires a year off.

[JI7]

89. i was thinking security could be part of it also. but also good to spend the rest of the days in the

white house together with the rest of the family.

[Tarheel_Dem]

88. Congratulations Malia.

[mmonk]

91. Nice.

[BumRushDaShow]

92. K&R but

it's sad to see the usual DU ODS running rampant in this thread. I shouldn't be surprised.

[Javaman]

95. that student loan debt will be devastating, oh wait. nt

[Hissyspit]

96. She's going to work at The Gap for a year before starting college?

[Renew Deal]

102. Good for her

[saidsimplesimon]

104. thanks kpete

imo, I have never had a moment during President Obama's term where I was not proud of our "No Drama" first family. They have earned some privacy and vacation time. Best wishes to Malia Obama during her travels abroad

[Donald Ian Rankin]

106. What, already?

Dear God, that makes me feel old.