'NYT' Sunday Preview: Barack Obama's School Days (Teaching)

[RamboLiberal]

NEW YORK A major story in this coming Sunday’s special New York Times Magazine “college” issue explores Barack Obama’s teaching days as a law professor at the University of Chicago. The article by Alexandra Star suggests that the aim was to find out what “kind of president he might make,” based on his record there.

It turns out the students he taught for a decade before leaving in 2003 loved him – he was “routinely” rated as one of the best teachers at the law school -- and found him extremely fair minded. He was “more pragmatic than ideological,” and used “forensic logic,” while also lacing his talks with basketball analogies.

Richard Hess, now an attorney, says, “it was drilled into us from Day 1 that you examined your biases and inclinations. And then, when you made decisions, they were based on sound empirical reasons.” Another former student calls him “a street smart academic…He wanted his students to consider the impact laws and judicial opinions had on real people.”

Another present day lawyer: ”You never would have known he was going to be a liberal senator based on what he said in his courses.” In fact, several suggest that his performance in the classroom is a better indicator of what kind of president he would be than his time in the Senate.

“Based on what I saw in the classroom,” says Dan Johnson-Weinberger, who lobbies for liberal causes in Illinois, “my guess is that an Obama administration could be summarized in two word: Ruthless pragmatism.”

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003852244

But no - let's elect the guy who graduated at the bottom of his class and the woman who went to six colleges in six years and got a "D" in macroeconomics.

Looking forward to this article. Another clue that Obama will make a great president.

[Rebellious Republican]

1. I would not expect anything less of him!

:kick:

[bowens43]

2. The republican party has spent decades dumbing down America.

They have managed to convince a sizable percentage of our citizens that intellect is a bad think. 'We don't need no thinkers in Washington'. We don't need no book learnin. They do not want an exceptional leader, they want someone they would feel comfortable drinking a beer with and telling fart jokes to..

It's mind boggling.

[okieinpain]

13. Idiocracy

can't take my eyes off of it when it comes on. reminds me of office space.

[PolNewf]

3. I believe it was the Chicago Tribune that did a previous story on this subject

The student reviews of him as a teacher is what made me believe Obama was for real.

[cui bono]

4. k & r

[Frank Booth]

5. I hope that someday our country again considers brilliance a better attribute than

mediocrity.

[me b zola]

6. K&R

[Cha]

7. "Ruthless Pragmatist"!

:bounce: :toast: :patriot: :patriot:

[Ian_rd]

8. "sound empirical reasons"? Where does Jesus fit into that?

NOWHERE!

Under Bush, we've had far too many decisions based on "sound empirical reasons." What we need now more than anything is a return to the Founding Fathers' dedication to prayer instead of action, moral absolutism and self-righteousness instead of diplomacy, and interpretations of the Book of Revelations in place of pragmatic foreign policy.

[SidneyCarton]

9. K & R for "Ruthless Pragmatism"

Something our country needs in gallons.

[alsame]

10. "He wanted his students to consider the impact laws

and judicial opinions had on real people.” That is the mindset of a real leader.

[Usrename]

11. But, but, but.... he has no accomplisments....

he gave a speech...

[Hope And Change]

12. K & R!