It was an interesting moment this past Saturday. Bob Vander Plaats, the 2002 & 2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate who is gearing up for a run in 2010 in hopes of facing off against Governor Chet Culver, made this declaration:
"I hold more degrees than he does and I have a license to evaluate him as a teacher and I plan on doing that in the 2010 general election," Vander Plaats said.
For those who know both of these men, you know Culver and Vander Plaats are both former teachers and coaches. (If this trivia has escaped your notice, you haven't been paying as close attention as the statehouse press corps, since both men mention their former lives as teachers and coaches often.) Culver got a master's degree in education from Drake University in 1994. Vander Plaats says he has a master's from Drake, too, as well as what he described as a "specialist's degree." During an interview on Saturday, Vander Plaats described it as an A.B.D. — "all but dissertation." Vander Plaats said he had taken doctoral level classes, but still had a bit of coursework and that dissertation to write before he could earn his doctorate.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Although I’m not a huge fan of Governor Culver, putting Vander Plaat in opposition to him on the ballot will certainly get Governor Culver re-elected.
Loren A Olson MD
www. MagneticFire.com