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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > July > 16 > Entry
McCain to NAACP: “School choice for all who want it”
Republican John McCain is coming to the NAACP convention in Cincinnati with a promise to offer “school choice for all who want it” if he’s elected president.
“After decades of hearing the same big promises from the public education establishment, and seeing the same poor results, it is surely time to shake off old ways and to demand new reforms,” McCain said in excerpts from the prepared text of the speech he was to deliver on Wednesday, July 16. “That isn’t just my opinion; it is the conviction of parents in poor neighborhoods across this nation who want better lives for their children.”
McCain’s appearance follows by two days the speech by his Democratic rival Barack Obama to the same group. Obama, the first major party black candidate for president, got a rousing reception.
McCain said that breaking with “conventional thinking” on education was especially important for blacks and other minorities.
“Nowhere are the limitations of conventional thinking any more apparent than in education policy. Education reform has long been a priority of the NAACP, and for good reason,” McCain said, ” For all the best efforts of teachers and administrators, the worst problems of our public school system are often found in black communities. Black and Latino students are among the most likely to drop out of high school. African Americans are also among the least likely to go on to college.”
McCain also asked the group to excuse him from passing up last year’s convention, held at a time his presidential campaign was faltering.
“As you might recall, I was a bit distracted at the time dealing with what reporters uncharitably described as an implosion in my campaign. But I’m very glad you invited me again,” he said.
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