One Tough Nerd

Katherine Mangu-Ward | February 25, 2010

There's a guy running for governor in Michigan on the nerd ticket. Republican Rick Snyder's campaign to challenge incumbent Democrat Jennifer Granholm focuses on the cluster of nerd superpowers: intelligence, planning, and persistence.

This former CEO of Gateway Computer wants to institute a flat tax for corporations, which sounds good. And he says he wants to "close failing schools" in his education plank, which could be code for real school reform. Otherwise, his policy positions are pretty vague right now. But this paragraph from his bio where he claims some serious nerd cred will either make you love him or hate him:

His curious mind led him to start reading Fortune and Business Week before age 10. He began investing in the stock market in his early teens, earning enough for the down payment on his first house. He graduated from Battle Creek Lakeview High School a semester early, having already earned 25 college credits. He enrolled immediately at the University of Michigan. Not accepting the conventional wisdom that degrees take a set amount of time to earn, he was awarded his undergraduate degree (with High Distinction), his MBA (with Distinction) and his JD, all by the age of 23.

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Marc|2.25.10 @ 5:03PM|#

NERDS!!?!??!!!

Booger|2.25.10 @ 6:01PM|#

"What the fuck are Robster Craws?"

Sam Grove|2.25.10 @ 9:47PM|#

Not "Craws", Craws!

Stan Gabble|2.25.10 @ 6:06PM|#

"Hey! That's my pie!"

|2.25.10 @ 7:38PM|#

Nerd or not, if he has a JD, he has already had his soul ripped out through his anus.

(Apologies to JsubD)

Air Jordan|2.25.10 @ 10:57PM|#

There are hundreds of stores from where you can buy your own pair of Air Jordan Shoes. While these are offered at malls, you can also choose to get your own through online apparel stores.

Ice|2.25.10 @ 5:05PM|#

I live in Michigan and if the republicans choose him over some asshole like Mike Cox(the AG) that would be good, but either way there really is no good candidates for either party so far in the Michigan governer race. I will probably just end up voting Libertarian.

Warty|2.25.10 @ 5:22PM|#

But is he a genuine nerd?

Brian Sorgatz|2.25.10 @ 5:51PM|#

That guy is (paradoxically) pretty cool, but he ripped off some of his jokes about high-fiber cereal from Dennis Wolfberg.

Warty|2.25.10 @ 6:04PM|#

I see him sometimes in real life. He really talks like that.

|2.25.10 @ 7:57PM|#

Just admit that you're him.

Fist of Etiquette|2.25.10 @ 5:22PM|#

Be warned, Michigan: If you elect Rick Snyder governor, the only thing stopping Canada from giving you a wedgie is Lake Huron. Are you comfortable with that?

Walter Jameson|2.26.10 @ 1:07AM|#

And Wisconsin will use the upper peninsula to tell you to stop hitting yourself.

SpongePaul|2.25.10 @ 5:32PM|#

Ok so he is Smart, but is he SMART! does he understand the COnst. and what liberties are, or is he another shill for the status quo

|2.25.10 @ 5:56PM|#

Yeah, exactly, let's not forget our hayek:

“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.”

thank god for econstories.

Brian Sorgatz|2.25.10 @ 5:34PM|#

Revenge of the nerds indeed. But beware the potential consequences of nerd revenge according to Robot Chicken.

Butts Wagner|2.25.10 @ 5:35PM|#

There are nerd JDs?

PR|2.25.10 @ 5:37PM|#

nerds are a threat to our way of life!

Jennifer|2.25.10 @ 5:38PM|#

Where are the blackheads on his face? Where are the acne scars? YOU LIE, KATHERINE! THAT MAN IS NOT A NERD!

Fist of Etiquette|2.25.10 @ 5:42PM|#

What does electing a nerd mean for the state's healthcare reforms? It means that inhalers will be covered but eyeglass repair will not.

Warty|2.25.10 @ 5:47PM|#

Jesus cocksucking fuck.

Publilius|2.25.10 @ 5:51PM|#

Fuck that shit.

OO=====D|2.25.10 @ 5:52PM|#

Brian Sorgatz|2.25.10 @ 5:56PM|#

Retarded Negro midget.

|2.25.10 @ 6:54PM|#

I for one am planning a guerilla campaign of cussing incessantly on my cell phone while driving.

|2.25.10 @ 7:49PM|#

Cross-posting is fucking retarded. There, I said it. ;^)

Warty|2.25.10 @ 10:17PM|#

I WAS FIRST

Publilius|2.25.10 @ 5:49PM|#

He's not challenging incumbent Democrat Jennifer Granholm. Due to term limits, she can't run again, which is good news because she's a bleeding-heart liberal who has spent all her time in office trying to convince the legislature that all of Michigan's problems can be solved by higher taxes.

The Gobbler|2.25.10 @ 5:52PM|#

It's Katherine Mangu-Ward. What do you expect? Accuracy?

Nemo|2.25.10 @ 9:40PM|#

Reason's become a goddamn Mickey Mouse operation here.

GOOFY|2.26.10 @ 12:47AM|#

Gawrsh! Drink!

Byron|2.26.10 @ 10:55AM|#

Same thing I thought when I read it - 'fact check much??'

A whole article and video about a guy running for election and you don't even know that there is no incumbent opponent?

Michael Ejercito|2.26.10 @ 12:21PM|#

Her re-election was proof that the voters of Michigan could not care less about their future.

Michigan's economy was in the outhouse while the economy for the nation on average was booming .

|2.25.10 @ 7:50PM|#

Is this the guy who crashed his company by building retail stores all over the place that he couldn't afford?

-jcr

wingnutx|2.25.10 @ 7:50PM|#

To adequately demonstrate nerd super-powers, we need a picture of Katherine Mangu-Ward in a latex Wonder Woman outfit.

|2.25.10 @ 11:53PM|#

Clap your hands everybody. And everybody clap your hands.

The Angry Optimist|2.26.10 @ 1:57AM|#

he was awarded his undergraduate degree (with High Distinction), his MBA (with Distinction) and his JD, all by the age of 23.

Given that this can be typically accomplised by 25 or 26, I am not all that impressed, especially since his college credits probably came subsidized by the taxpayer. "Post-secondary" is one of the greater scams inflicted on the taxpayer.

|2.26.10 @ 9:25AM|#

I was shocked to find how many credits you could get before going to school when talking to my oldest son. I went in with 12 credits (from AP courses) and was way ahead of most people. If I performed about the same way I did back then today, I'd be going in with around 24.

In my mind, while AP classes were (and presumably are) good, they weren't really quite the same as college courses.

|3.12.10 @ 5:35PM|#

"undergraduate degree (with High Distinction), his MBA (with Distinction) and his JD, all by the age of 23."

Dumb yokes, that means he was in a dual degree program and finished a year earlier than normal. people are impressed by this?? i could understand, if he had earned a md as well, lol

|3.12.10 @ 5:38PM|#

angry optimist, lol. he is a lawyer, just like nearly all the other politicians. he has the same education, and is no more or less a nerd than the rest.

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