Newt Gingrich’s ‘elite’ PhD topic

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich likes to use the word “elites” as a pejorative when he talks about things and people whom he considers liberal. But the former House speaker himself is in pretty elite company when it comes to his PhD.

For one thing, earning a doctorate is a pretty elite thing to do in the United States. Nearly 40 percent of Americans ages 25 and older had an associate and/or bachelor's degree in 2010, according to the Census Bureau, while less than 3 percent had a doctorate.

Only one American president in the entire history of the country has had a doctorate, Woodrow Wilson, who served from 1913 to 1921, and earned a PhD in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University. His doctorate was called “Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics.” (Wilson was also president of Princeton University.)...