‘Dumb?’: Joe Scarborough Schools Howard Dean on Scott Walker and the Value of a College Degree

Democratic commentator Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who rose and fell quickly in the 2004 presidential race, sounded this morning like he thinks a college degree should be a prerequisite for holding the top job in the White House.

Dean said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s three and a half years of college make him “unknowledgeable.”

Happy to field a variety of questions today at the Chatham House. Regarding one in particular…

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) February 11, 2015

Dean, also a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, made the comment while disparaging Walker for declining to answer a question about evolution  from the BBC’s Justin Webb during an appearance at the Chatham House think tank in London while on a trade visit to the United Kingdom.

“I’m here to talk about trade, not to pontificate on other issues,” Walker told Webb. “I love the evolution of trade in Wisconsin, and I’d like to see an even bigger evolution as well.”

Both science & my faith dictate my belief that we are created by God. I believe faith & science are compatible, & go hand in hand.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) February 11, 2015

“Are you serious?” responded the show’s host, Joe Scarborough, sharply challenging Dean. “You’re saying he might not be qualified [for president] because he didn’t finish college?”

“Nobody is accusing @ScottWalker of being dumb because he didn’t graduate from college except you.”-@JoeNBC

“I think there are going to be a lot of people who worry about that,” the Yale- and Columbia-educated Dean said.

Watch the clip to see how Scarborough rates a college degree—and how he takes Dean to school on the question, which appears to have become important in some quarters as Walker rises among his Republican peers in the polls.

It's unfortunate the media chose to politicize this issue during our trade mission to foster investment in WI.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) February 11, 2015

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>>> Commentary: Howard Dean Judges Scott Walker for Not Having a College Degree. Why He Shouldn’t.