WA-08: Netroots Hero Inflates Degree in "Economics"

Hypothetical:  let's say you're a Democrat making a repeat run for Congress in an affluent, metropolitican suburb.  You're grabbing attention for your national ties to the netroots, which is raising questions in national publications about just how in tune with your potential constituents you are.

Would it be wise to stretch the truth by claiming your degree from Harvard is in economics rather than computer science?

Probably not.  The basic details:

In recent weeks, Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner has touted her Harvard degree in economics when talking about the nation's financial crisis and her opposition to the bailout package passed by Congress.

At two debates this month, she brought up her academic background in her opening statement.

"I loved economics so much that I got a degree in it from Harvard," she said at an Oct. 10 debate at KCTS-TV. "Now everywhere I go in this district, the only thing people want to talk to me about is the economy."

But while she took courses in economics, Burner doesn't have a degree in the subject from Harvard.

She does have a bachelor's degree in computer science, the university said. And her academic transcripts show she took five economics courses, enough to earn an emphasis in economics within her computer science degree.

Incumbent Congressman Dave Reichert's campaign is obviously pouncing on this fact.  He hung on for a re-election year amidst the chaos of 2006, despite running in a district that now votes reliably Democratic in Presidential and most statewide races in Washington state.

The campaign released video of Burner saying at a debate she has a degree in "economics":

Meanwhile, Burner's own website still says:

She didn't give up and she didn't just muddle through. Instead, she buckled down and studied twice as hard at school, while working two or three jobs at time, to get accepted and then put herself through Harvard, where she earned a degree in computer science and economics.

The campaign was clearly stretching the truth, now it has a front-page article in the Seattle Times less than two weeks before the election (as most voters already have mail-in ballots in their hands) calling her on it.

More info at this race and the Washington gubernatorial rematch between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire available at Sound Politics.