By Rich

February 25, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this

For the record, here are Hillary Clinton’s comments from her interview with the same Milwaukee newspaper (www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=718550) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that school voucher programs, such as the one in Milwaukee, undermine the pressure needed for “significant changes in the public schools.” In a 45-minute conference call with Journal Sentinel reporters and editors, Clinton also said recent movement by the government in Iraq is motivated, in part, by the likelihood “the Democratic nominee will be elected and begin to withdraw the troops.” Here is a look at what Clinton had to say on those and other topics: School choice: Clinton said she questions the constitutionality of such programs, citing the separation of church and state. Beyond that, she questioned the standing government would have to deny vouchers for a school such as a “school of the Jihad.” “Once you throw it open, I don’t know how you say no,” said Clinton, who added of such programs: “I think it undermines the pressure that should be brought on significant changes in the public school system.” This is a pretty clear-cut rejection of vouchers, both in principle and in practice. However, a browse through the official Clinton campaign website’s education-related items turned up NO instances of the word “voucher” anywhere, in position papers or speeches. sigh

By Rich

February 25, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this

Anyone interested should visit this site to read the Obama campaign’s spin on this issue: www2.edweek.org/media/obamavouchersresponse.pdf Then compare that to this passage, copied verbatim from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article in question (found at www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=718193): “Here is a look at what Obama had to say on those and other topics: School choice: Obama said he has been a strong supporter of charter schools “as a way to foster competition in the public school system.” He pronounced himself a skeptic of private school vouchers, saying: “My view is you’re not going to generate the supply of high-quality schools to meet the demand.” Obama said he was surprised to learn from Gov. Jim Doyle that “there was no assessment process” for the Milwaukee program but indicated he might be open to supporting voucher programs if studies show they work. “If there was any argument for vouchers, it was ‘Let’s see if the experiment works,’ ” Obama said. “And if it does, whatever my preconception, you do what’s best for kids.” It’s interesting — this pragmatic attitude is hard to disagree with, but it’s equally hard to equate such statements with claims of an unequivocal rejection of vouchers, which IS the impression his campaign now seems intent on leaving with the public. And as I indicated in a response posted after an earlier blog item here, education-related positions detailed on Obama’s official website mention the word “voucher” exactly ONCE, and it’s not in a context of explicitly rejecting them in principle or in general practice. Incidentally, I’m not particularly anti-Obama, but isn’t it disappointing to see that he’s unable to resist the impulse to act like a typical politician, fudging issues and positions depending on the audience? It’s too much to expect him to be so pure that he NEVER acts politically, of course — but facts are facts, and the facts don’t support a claim of a deep skepticism that verges on complete rejection of vouchers. At best, his newspaper interview indicates doubt that the supply of high-quality voucher schools will be sufficient — but without comment on legality, or the effect of diverting students and money from existing public schools, or any other facet of this complex issue.

By Mary

February 25, 2008 11:27 AM | Link to this

It is education issues like this that make me hold my nose when I vote Democrat. I am an independent who hates to fall into the trap of single issue votes. The media should have been putting all the candidates on the spot months ago on these issues. This protracted contest has been run like a beauty pageant, homecoming king or queen vote, pep rally and popularity competition instead of a critical democratic process. Is the media part of the conspiracy to dumb everyone down?