Ranking Residential Colleges By Their Namesakes' Political Aspirations

Meg Whitman '77 has had a bumpy start to her gubernatorial campaign since she announced her decision in February. First, it turned out she was a lot more conservative than many thought--including her former gay employees at eBay--when she came out in favor of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.Then, fellow Silicon Valley alum Steve Poizner, who is also running to be the GOP candidate, began attacking Whitman's business leadership at eBay. The company's new CEO has been frantically undoing everything Whitman did because it hasn't been working.In the meantime, continuing our mini-obsession with Whitman's run for office out in the Sunshine State Golden State, we decided to take a look at all the residential colleges through the political prism:1. Wilson CollegeWoodrow Wilson: President of Princeton University, governor of the "great" state of New Jersey, the 28th President of the United States, and the hands-down winner of this list.2. Forbes CollegeMalcolm “Steve” Forbes ran in the 1996 and 2000 Republican Presidential primaries. His pseudo-libertarian flat tax agenda only won him Arizona and Delaware in 1996, and he dropped out early in 2000. Still, he remains an important financial supporter and logistical adviser to many members of the Republican Party.3. Whitman College While she isn't running for President, Whitman and her gubernatorial aspirations out in the most populous state in the union are nothing to cough at. If Meg ends up winning in California, she’ll vault herself past Forbes to the number two spot on this esteemed list (though she’s got her work cut out for her if she wants to pass Wilson).4. Rockefeller CollegeThough John D. Rockefeller III never ran for political office, he was something of a foreign policy junkie, founding the Asia Society and accompanying then Secretary of State John Dulles on a trip to Japan to broker a treaty. But the rest of his family (full list of famous and quasi-famous Rockefellows here) includes a Vice-President, a handful of Governors, and a Senator from West Virginia.5. Butler/Mathey CollegesNeither Dean Mathey or Lee Butler seemed particularly interested in politics; Mathey was a tennis star and bond trader, and Butler a Washington, D.C., businessman.