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Warren, the former chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel on TARP now running for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, may have a “Harvard Problem,” according to the Boston Globe. Warren is a professor at Harvard Law School, where she teaches contract, bankruptcy, and commercial law.
As Mary Carmichael writes:
Warren’s Harvard link could be an advantage… but her connection to the university could also hurt her. A Harvard line on a resume appeals to employers but plays less well with some voters.
“We’re going to hear the ‘Harvard elite’ thing over and over. That’s Scott Brown’s best play,’’ said Dan Cluchey, a third-year student organizing a “Students for Warren’’ club. “Of course, I think anyone who describes her that way is either being misleading or just hasn’t met her yet.’’
Opponents started to use Warren’s Harvard connection against her even before she declared she would run. The “CrazyKhazei’’ Twitter account, yanked in late August after a Scott Brown adviser was revealed as its author, painted her as a “typical Harvard elitist.’’ In early September, the school’s student newspaper, the Crimson, predicted Warren would have a “Harvard Problem.’’
Perhaps typical “typical Harvard elitist’’ would suggest that Warren, who earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and her law degree at Rutgers School of Law-Newark, is out of touch with voters.
Employment at Harvard can’t itself be much of a barrier to success, however, at least not in the Bay State. Harvard is the third largest employer in Massachusetts. Using this standard, Massachusetts itself is out of touch with voters. [Image via]
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Equal Opportunity Cynic on September 21, 2011 2:08 PM:
We have to be the only country in the world where being associated with an elite educational institution is considered evidence of traits we DON'T want in elected officials. Hey, let's restrict Congress to those with IQ of 90 or below, so there'll be no chance of those Ivy League intellectuals coming to power.
tamiasmin on September 21, 2011 4:36 PM:
Listen to her for one minute and you'll know how well she connects with ordinary people. She makes sense, something voters are starved for, and she doesn't put them off by using jargon (or deception).
Sam on September 22, 2011 2:51 AM:
You know, Deval Patrick (the governor) went to Harvard. John Kerry went to Yale. Ted Kennedy went to Harvard. Barney Frank went to Harvard for undergrad, and the rest of the House delegation from MA went to prestigious schools (MIT, Dartmouth), and some of them did grad work at Harvard. This business about how the Harvard connection is going to kill Warren's campaign is just a GOP talking point. Massachusetts ain't Mississippi.
Even Wichita, Kansas isn't Mississippi, as a matter of fact--the House race there in 2010 was between two graduates of Harvard Law School.