How does a college dropout become a Congressman? Ask Republican Doc Hastings. While I’m sure it’s not completely uncommon, with Hastings it’s always been a bit of a mystery. That mystery was largely perpetuated by Hastings himself. His campaign website obliquely states “He attended both Central Washington University and Columbia Basin College”, but doesn’t mention he only attended Central for a very brief period (perhaps less than one semester). Attending Columbia Basin College often equates with having an Associates degree. It isn’t even clear that is the case. It wasn’t until a June Wikipedia bio update on Hastings that I was even able to confirm my suspicions on Hastings lack of education. And it came from Hastings own mouth as he spoke, ironically, at the Central Wa. University graduation commencement.

“I remember the winter,” said Hastings. “It got to 23 below in Ellensburg one day — and that alone could be reason enough to leave college. But, no in reality my grades were less than stellar and I chose to leave school after the fall quarter. I ended up in California for several years, where I met my wife, before returning to Pasco to run our family business.”

Hastings said he regretted not earning his degree.

“Regret, because looking back, I believe had I finished my formal education, my learning experiences later in life may have been accelerated,” said Hastings.

Does this matter? Well, aside from the humorous aspect in that “Doc” Hastings is nowhere close to being a “Doc”, and imagining the puzzled look on the graduating faces when their commencement address was being delivered by a self confessed dropout, well… hell yes it matters. Yes, it’s a good thing there are opportunities out there even without a four year degree but lets face the fact that we generally have higher expectations in our elected officials and their credentials reflect our expectations. And if that sounds elitist, ask yourself… would you have voted for any federal candidate knowing up front they dropped out of college? There are only two federal seats in Washington State that don’t at least hold a bachelors degree, Doc Hastings and Dave Reichert. In Fact, here is the educational breakdown of Washington State’s Congressional delegation.

• Patty Murray (D)- Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University
• Maria Cantwell (D)- Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration
• Jim McDermott (D)- M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago
• Rick Larson (D)- University of Minnesota, master’s degree in public affairs
• Jay Inslee (D)- University of Washington (B.A., Economics) and Willamette University College of Law
• Adam Smith (D)- University of Washington, Law
• Norm Dicks (D)- University of Washington, Law
• Brian Baird (D)- University of Wyoming, Ph.D. in clinical psychology
• Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R) - BA in Pre-Law from Pensacola Christian College (an unaccredited school). Executive MBA from the University of Washington.
• Dave Reichert (R)- AA in Social Work, Concordia Lutheran College
• Doc Hastings (R)- Attended Columbia Basin College and Central Washington University

So how did Hastings get elected time and again being the least educated amongst the Wa. delegation? One way is by dishonestly obscuring the fact that he has little more than a high school education. And it seems he gets some unwitting help from the press as well. Election after election the press has repeated the oblique description provided by Hastings. Perhaps it was an effort to avoid highlighting an issue that could be seen as a smear tactic, or maybe just lazy reporting. Hastings own admission should bring it right out in the open.