Editing Paul Begala (section)

== Early life and education ==
Begala was born in [[New Jersey]], to an [[Irish American]] mother, Margaret "Peggy" (née Cass), and a [[Hungarian American]] father, David Begala. He was raised in [[Missouri City, Texas|Missouri City]], [[Texas]], where his father was an oil-field equipment salesman.<ref name="ref92">{{cite news| last=Grove| first=Lloyd| title=Nailing the Lid on the GOP; Clinton Strategist Paul Begala Learned His Politics at the Hardware Store|newspaper=The Washington Post| date=November 5, 1992|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/74060250.html?dids=74060250:74060250&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+05%2C+1992&author=Lloyd+Grove&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&esc=Nailing+the+Lid+on+the+Gop%3B+Clinton+Strategist+Paul+Begala+Learned+His+Politics+at+the+Hardware+Store&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106171753/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/74060250.html?dids=74060250:74060250&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+05,+1992&author=Lloyd+Grove&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&esc=Nailing+the+Lid+on+the+Gop%3B+Clinton+Strategist+Paul+Begala+Learned+His+Politics+at+the+Hardware+Store&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 6, 2012|access-date=January 28, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/thirdtermwhygeor00bega|url-access=registration|title=Third Term: Why George W. Bush (Hearts) John McCain|first=Paul|last=Begala|date=September 9, 2008|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781439102138 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In 1979, Begala graduated from [[Dulles High School (Sugar Land, Texas)|Dulles High School]] in [[Sugar Land, Texas|Sugar Land]], Texas.

He earned both his [[Bachelor of Arts]] and [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[University of Texas at Austin]], where he taught briefly. While at the University of Texas, Begala was a candidate for student government president. However, he finished second to a [[Write-in candidate|write-in campaign]] for Hank the Hallucination, a character from the campus comic strip ''[[Eyebeam (comic)|Eyebeam]]''. Following his loss, Begala wrote a [[tongue-in-cheek]] complaint for the ''[[Daily Texan]]'', arguing "I cannot help but feel Hank's platform is illusory at best...I must say that the candidate himself lacks substance". Begala was declared the winner, following a ruling that imaginary characters could not hold the position.<ref>[http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/paper410/news/2004/04/19/TopStories/Sg.Helps.Foster.Future.Leaders-664368.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com SG helps foster future leaders] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930210058/http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/paper410/news/2004/04/19/TopStories/Sg.Helps.Foster.Future.Leaders-664368.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com |date=2007-09-30 }}, ''The Daily Texan'', April 19, 2004; accessed February 5, 2008.</ref>