President Obama swiped back at former Sen. Rick Santorum for calling him a “snob” for wanting all children to attend college during a speech at the Democratic Governors’ Association annual conference Monday.
Even though Mr. Obama didn’t mention Mr. Santorum by name, the comments were clearly geared as a response to the Republican presidential contender’s derision of his higher-education goals.
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“When I speak about higher education we’re not just talking about a four-year degree,” Mr. Obama said. “We’re talking about somebody going to a community college and getting trained … for that manufacturing job that now is requiring somebody walking through the door handling a million-dollar piece of equipment.”
“They can’t go in there unless they’ve got some basic training beyond what they received in high school,” he added.
White House spokesman Jay Carney also pushed back during a briefing with reporters Monday.
“I don’t think any parent … would think it’s snobbery to hope for that child the best possible education,” he said.
While campaigning in Detroit over the weekend, Mr. Santorum criticized the president for calling for all students to have the chance at receiving a college education, arguing that plenty of Americans work hard and contribute to society without earning a degree.
“President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob,” said the former Pennsylvania senator. “There are good, decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to test that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor to try to indoctrinate them. Oh, I understand why he wants you to go to college. He wants to remake you in his image.”
