The college Republicans: how the leading GOP presidential contenders were shaped by their undergraduate years--for better or worse.

• Author: Knight, Samuel

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Michele (Amble) Bachmann

B.A., English, 1978

Winona State University

A born-again Christian by the age of sixteen, Bachmann spent the summer after high school in Israel. She enrolled at Winona the following fall, where she met her husband (now known for running clinics promising to "cure" homosexuality). The two campaigned for Jimmy Carter's presidential bid, but her flirtation with Democratic politics was short-lived. After reading Gore Vidal's Burr, Bachmann converted to conservatism, claiming that the book's lack of reverence for the Founding Fathers inspired an ideological eureka moment. She subsequently attended Oklahoma's O. W. Coburn School of Law, which purported to teach "the law from a biblical worldview."

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Herman Cain

B.S., Mathematics, 1967

Morehouse College

Alpha Zeta

Cain was not eligible to attend the University of Georgia because he was black. His family paid for Morehouse through stock received from Coca-Cola President Robert Woodruff--Cain's father was Woodruff's chauffeur.

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Newt Gingrich

B.A., History, 1965

Columbus College, Emory University

Gingrich transferred to Emory after his freshman year to shack up with his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley. He married Battley in the fall of 1962 and had a daughter by sophomore year. He started the Young Republicans chapter at Emory. He wore a suit and a tie to class.

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Jon Huntsman

B.A., International Politics, 1987

University of Utah, University of Pennsylvania

Sigma Chi

Son of the billionaire who developed the plastic egg carton, Huntsman dropped out of high school to tour with a band called Wizard. He eventually earned a GED and started college, though took time off after freshman year to do Mormon missionary work in China, where he learned the language and developed an interest in the culture. It was a detour that caused him to earn his degree at twenty-seven, but also eventually landed him back in Beijing as the American ambassador.

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Sarah (Heath) Palin

B.A., Journalism, 1987

University of Idaho, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Matanuska-Susitna Community College, etc.

Palin attended five schools in three states. Despite a degree in journalism, she never wrote for any lamestream school newspapers (though she did intern at a local TV station after graduation).

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Ron Paul

B.S., Biology, 1957

Gettysburg College

Lambda Chi Alpha

Paul...