DGS49
Diamond Member
The Wall Street Journal recently published an opinion piece about the educational and professional bona fides of "Dr. Jill Biden."
Opinion | Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D. (Please excuse the paywall; you get the idea)
The reason for the article was at least partly a reaction to the Biden team continually using the title, "Dr." when mentioning the future FLOTUS, who is distinguished with a PhD in Education. Such formality - being referred to as "Doctor" - is generally not observed for people who are not physicians or other credentialed medical professionals. There is actually a formal policy by the Associated Press, followed by most other Media outlets, that non-medical doctorates are not mentioned unless they are relevant to a particular story.
On a related point, most law school grads have earned a Juris Doctor degree, but they (we) never use that title unless we are employed in a college or university, and being addressed in our teaching capacity.
So it is really a bit of excess pomposity to refer to Jill Biden as "Doctor," knowing that most Americans will assume she is a physician. I have even heard people speculate that Biden can live so lavishly on his "government" salary because his wife is a doctor. Not so fast there. One might also note that in Academe, a doctorate in education is right up there with ethnic studies and phys ed on the prestige ladder.
One might also notice with a good dose of cynicism that the Media rarely use the title of "Dr." for actual Republican physicians such as Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. Rand Paul, and others.
"Doctor Jill Biden"? Gimme a break.
Opinion | Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D. (Please excuse the paywall; you get the idea)
The reason for the article was at least partly a reaction to the Biden team continually using the title, "Dr." when mentioning the future FLOTUS, who is distinguished with a PhD in Education. Such formality - being referred to as "Doctor" - is generally not observed for people who are not physicians or other credentialed medical professionals. There is actually a formal policy by the Associated Press, followed by most other Media outlets, that non-medical doctorates are not mentioned unless they are relevant to a particular story.
On a related point, most law school grads have earned a Juris Doctor degree, but they (we) never use that title unless we are employed in a college or university, and being addressed in our teaching capacity.
So it is really a bit of excess pomposity to refer to Jill Biden as "Doctor," knowing that most Americans will assume she is a physician. I have even heard people speculate that Biden can live so lavishly on his "government" salary because his wife is a doctor. Not so fast there. One might also note that in Academe, a doctorate in education is right up there with ethnic studies and phys ed on the prestige ladder.
One might also notice with a good dose of cynicism that the Media rarely use the title of "Dr." for actual Republican physicians such as Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. Rand Paul, and others.
"Doctor Jill Biden"? Gimme a break.