Reply #84: You make it so easy

[OKNancy]

You were/are a big Gore supporter right?

Gore has connections too you know...they all do. THat is the way of the world.

Here is a little tidbit for you:

George W. Bush and Al Gore maintained at least some of their prep school friendships for the rest of their lives. Bush's Andover classmate and fellow Texan Clay Johnson is now Bush's appointments secretary.

At a recent Andover reunion, Johnson handed Bush a list showing a prestigious Bush Administration appointment for every one of their Adover classmates. The list was meant as a joke (and a good way to help raise contributions) but it also shows the powerful impact of friendships formed at these prestigious schools.

Al Gore's St. Albans pal Reed Hundt now serves on Gore's presidential campaign as what he calls "informal 'oldest friend' advisor." Reed and Al attended The Beatles' first U.S. concert together and later were debate partners.

Today, Hundt is a senior advisor with a prestigious consulting firm and previously served as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Hundt later attended school with George W. Bush at Yale.

Another St. Albans ally for Al, though several years behind him at St. Albans, is Senator Evan Bayh from Indiana.

snip


Do these stories show there is an "old boys network" among graduates of these prestigious schools? Many alumni are hesitant to admit it flat out. But St. Albans and Andover, like most colleges, mail free alumni networking books to their graduates and encourage alumni to stay in touch and help each other find jobs. As Jon McVoy puts it, "You aren't guaranteed a job because you went to St. Albans, but they have done a lot of the work for you by way of giving you a list of contacts."

One recent St. Albans graduate interviewed for this article said he's still close with his St. Albans "brothers" who all now hold high-salaried positions on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley. He dreams of "hitting up" his St. Albans friends for loans some day to finance a bar or restaurant.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec00/privateschools.html