Walker touts unconventional ‘master’s degree’

As he prepares for a possible presidential campaign, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is saying he’s got a master’s degree of sorts — but not the traditional, sheepskin version.

In a radio interview earlier this week, Walker unveiled a slightly different response when asked about his lack of a college degree. The governor, who left Marquette University in his senior year to take a full-time job, could be in a presidential field that includes lawyers, doctors and business people with bachelor’s and advanced degrees.

“I’m like the majority of people in America,” Walker told Hugh Hewitt. “I’m someone who went to college, had the opportunity in my senior year to go and take a job full-time, which was not the only reason I went to college, but one of the biggest reasons was to get a job.”

Then he got married and started a family. “Like a lot of folks in America, you know, your family and your job take the time away from you finishing it up,” Walker continued. “I’ve got a master’s degree in taking on the big government special interests, and I think that is worth more than anything else that anybody can point to.”

Walker is correct that he is like a lot of people in America. The U.S. Census Bureau says 56.5% of people over the age of 25 have at least a high school diploma and attended some college, compared with 31.7% have at least a bachelor’s degree.

The last president who didn’t have a college degree was Harry Truman, who took courses in law and at a business college. As president, Truman was instrumental in creating two-year community colleges that would provide technical training and degrees as well as a gateway to higher education.

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