Educational backgrounds of the candidates

I'm sure I'm going to get flamed by some people for being elitist or old-fashioned, but I happen to think that to successfully navigate the enormous challenges of being President and Vice President, a person needs extraordinary intellectual horsepower (plus a lot of other things, to be sure!).  I also think that one important way to measure this is one's academic record: what schools did they attend, how well did they do there, and what degrees and honors did they earn?  With this in mind, let's look at the educational background of the candidates: 

Obama:

 

Occidental College - Two years.

Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.

Harvard - Jurist Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude and editor of the Harvard Law Review.

 

Biden:

 

University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.

Syracuse University College of Law - Jurist Doctor (J.D.)

 

vs.

 

McCain:

 

United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 out of 899 (meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was at the bottom of his class).

 

Palin:

 

Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester.

North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study.

University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism.

Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester.

University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism.