‘A’ on Vision, ‘F’ on Specifics

“His (Obama’s) speech focused solely on [fill in the blank] was long on rhetoric, but short on specifics.”
The one thing, besides reading a teleprompter, that Obama has mastered, is getting together with David Axlefraud and his speechwriter and coming up with really cool things to say in a teleprompter recital.
That’s it.
Obama is an empty suit fraud who manipulates everyone with his silver tongue.

If Ron Paul gets his Fed Transparency Act passed, at least we will know where the Fed is sending our money.

Is it true that George Stephanopolis is on the team crafting the Demo attack strategy vs Reps, i.e. the Limbaugh response?

Great get upto your ears in college debt and pay it off working at McDonald’s! Yeah THAT sounds like a plan! Just ask the downsized folks how it worked out for them! How about we stop the illegal immigration flooding the US with unskilled laborers and give those jobs to high school and college kids so they can pay down their loans and debts? How about we hire “downsized” workers to do what the illegals do? If you love the unions so much, why are you allowing the unskilled immigrants to undercut employment of union members? How about we bring back trade schools so those who don’t want or need to pay for a college indoctrination degree can have careers in undermanned trades and professions? What does this make TOO MUCH sense??? Then I guess we better stick to the status quo, it’s helped us get this far (down the hole) right? Yeah, I guess in hindsight “Change” means more of the SAME!

“I’m too young to remember Carter, but I imagine this is what it was like.’
Believe me, it was a lot worse than this. Imagine 21% interest rates, 14% inflation, homes unsold everywhere, businesses dying everywhere, and rationing of gasoline, many days waiting 2-5 hours in line to get gas.

THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT SUCKS!

Just a grammatical aside. Please stop using “it’s” for “its”. I propose a new rule. Never use “it’s”. Just use “it is” or the possessive “its”. Then you should not be confused.

Nies and Millers’ report is a disappointment, to say the least. Leading their post with a tabloidish, assumptive headline while leaving out:
“The address on Tuesday was the first step in laying out the president’s agenda to improve American schools, officials said, with more specifics to be outlined in the coming weeks to Congress. Mr. Obama set a goal of the United States having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.”

He is a politician right? The specifics will be coming soon.Especially when someone points out the lack thereof in this administration. But what a minute. isn’t he being criticized for trying to do to much to fast with the economy? Maybe he doesn’t have all the details nailed out for education because he is focused on two wars and a economy headed south. He does have four years right? Maybe we could at least give him a month to come up with something for education? Is that too much or too long to wait? People please get a life.

I guess it had enough details to be encouraging for the Republican House leader on education (see below.) Maybe the writers didn’t like what was said because it goes against their ideological beliefs. Get a life Tapper.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement in response to remarks from President Barack Obama on education reform:
“President Obama is right when he says that America’s education system must once more be the envy of the world. Like him, I believe that education is the foundation upon which a competitive workforce is built, and education reform is an urgent national priority.
“The president deserves credit for his willingness to take on the education establishment, something too few in his party have been willing to do. The president made clear that he rejects the inertia of complacency and will embrace innovative strategies like teacher performance pay to spur real reform and improvement in the classroom. He has also spoken compellingly about the importance of charter schools to spur innovation and provide parental choice. I am hopeful the President will take the next step to buck reform opponents by standing up for the children in the nation’s capital and protecting the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
“I have fought for years to make college more accessible and affordable for America’s students, and I appreciate the President’s commitment to that goal. I look forward to working with him on financial aid reform and simplification. But I am troubled by his proposal to push the private sector out of student lending, and hope we can work together to strengthen a program that has served students well for more than four decades.
“Ultimately, though we can provide leadership, the federal government cannot solve the problems in our nation’s schools. We need to empower teachers, principals, and parents to provide a world class education for all of America’s children, so that they, and we, can compete on the world stage tomorrow.”

A on vision? Perfect. Anyone can have vision.
In Chicago 6 out of 100 students attain a BA degree by the age of 25. Now Obama wants to bring that success to the rest of the country.
No thanks.
Vision is BS. The truth lies in the record.

I am concerned Mr. Obama has little to say about our security or defense issues. Example Iran’s nuclear ambitions. China’s 15% increase in military spending etc. Seems to be passing to Biden, is that a admission of inexperience and has our rivals picked up on that…scary

Posted by: Parallax View | Mar 10, 2009 1:11:34 PM
According the the Telegraph of London, Obama is so “overwhelmed” by the Presidency that he hasn’t any time to even “fake” caring about foreign policy.

Detroit, Mich. — Detroit Public Schools, one of the nation’s most chronically corrupt systems, will receive $355 million from the federal stimulus package — with no strings attached, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.
—————————————
This move is less than visionary.

“Detroit, Mich. — Detroit Public Schools, one of the nation’s most chronically corrupt systems, will receive $355 million from the federal stimulus package — with no strings attached, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.”
Who is running this system? Bush? Are they going to blame Bush for this too? This is really pouring money into the toilet. Failure of education is not a money problem, it is a societal failure.

“The emphasis on making education a common effort as opposed to placing the burden squarely on the shoulders of teachers, getting more parental involvement, leveling the standards across states (an uneveness that has crippled our ability to compete globally), and openness to trying new things is a breath of fresh air. The specifics will come, mainly from the DOE, but it’s clear that the tone and direction have changed.”
What has changed, Aaron?
The DOE has been around for more than thirty years and what exactly has it ever accomplished other than waste money? How did those us educated by the time the DOE was formed ever get OUR education?
Bill Clinton personifies what’s wrong in the education system. Formerly only Army Rangers could wear black berets. Because that affected the self-esteem of the other soldiers, Clinton ordered all to wear black berets without having earned them.
That is the Democratic answer in education. Lower the standards. Hold everyone back until the worst succeeds.
It’s a miserable policy. That’s not how life works.
You offer equal opportunity to all, but you cannot guarantee equal outcome. Nothing will succeed until left wingers come to grips with that fact of life.

Pamber post a right-winger, highly partisan, nonsensical statement and follows with:
“Just stating facts. Partisan hacks need not reply”
ROFLMAO

“it is because we are too expensive.”
Sort of. The highest corporate taxes in the world are those of the US. Companies want to make a profit and they go where the can make a profit. If that means hiring overseas, that’s what they’ll do. Companies do not exist to act as social foundations. This the global economy thing that Democrats talked so much about ten years ago.
This is what it really means.

Just curious what PB0 would say if he did not read from his teleprompter.
It’s not called “giving a speech”. It’s reading a paper.
If a student did it, he would get an F, for cheating.
If PBO does it, it’s called vision.
Hope we can believe in Change.

Drjohn,
Clearly there are variances in talent and ability, but are we simply to presume that these are based on innate gifts or do we accept as a society that the most likely determinant of success in education is environment?
Certainly there are instances where demonstrably gifted students rise above difficult circumstances, but it can equally be claimed that a majority of those innately talented kids fall victim to those same circumstances. In other words, is it not society’s responsibility to its children, those whose choices are in many ways made for them by circumstance, to provide parity, stability, responsibility, and excellence through its education system? What you deride as a fact of life that left-leaning people must come to accept is nothing more than social darwinism.
The fact of the matter is that there HAVE been failures, at many levels of society, to address and redress the short-comings of our educational system, but this shouldn’t lead us to abdicate our willingness to find solutions to your notion of defeatism. In my left-leaning world, my goal is actually to foster a sense of ownership and responsibility in and through education at all levels of society. I propose that President Obama is similarly laying the foundation for such an effort, and while there will be real debates on the merits, your position accepts mediocrity as inevitable because it views success as merely based on hard work and character. I presume that hard work and character, like nearly everything else in life, are learned, and that while some might not achieve great things in their lives, they at least deserve to learn that their lives have worth.

Interesting new article posted at HotAir titled:
“Manchurian President?”

It’s dumbfounding to me the right-winger (different than Republican) comments on Obama regarding education.
As reported by other news agencies, this was the “first step”.
Education starts with the states and Obama just gave them a shot across the bow. Oddly, if Obama had rolled out a massive plan, you all would be criticizing him for too much involvement.
This topic is not one you can simply use whatever right wing (in this case) talking point is handily available to demonize the President.
There is a huge discrepancy in eduction among states and even in states. Teachers need to be able to teach. Stossel did a great report on eduction/unions a couple of years ago on 20/20.
A better education for our children is something that only benefits us all and for the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would chose to reduce our youth, their future, our countries future to partisan hackery.

I accept nothing, Aaron. I demanded my children give me their best efforts, and they did and they are, and I am pleased.
The problem is societal. Schools now take on the roles that should belong to parents. Schools take on roles that belong to civil authorities.
It’s insane that armed policemen need to be in schools. The reason for that is that the behavior necessitating police presence is tolerated.
You continue that behavior which you subsidize, the behavior you reward.
I fully concur that parental cooperation is critical. I have done my best to be that parent and I am most pleased with the outcome.
I did not have much growing up and we did not have computers or even calculators. Men were put on the moon with slide rules.
Money doesn’t do it.
If you want to see success, demand it. Demand accountability. Demand parental participation.
Of course, that won’t be easy when we keep subsidizing teenage pregnancies and fatherless children.
You know that’s the core issue as well as I.
Chicago is a sewer of education. God help us of we allow the same standards throughout the country.

Maybe this is tied to President Obama signing the executive order on embryonic stem cell research! Injecting stem cells to increase IQs to make sure that everyone has equal potential as well as equal opportunity.

Prove it.
Hartford gets the MOST money per child of any school district in CT and it is the worst performer.
It’s the same for Chicago and IL. It’s the same everyhere.
Don’t just say these things. Prove them.
Saying it don’t make it so.
Posted by: drjohn | Mar 10, 2009 2:19:11 PM
————
Look it up yourself. And while you are at it think about this.
Chicago is indeed one of the worst performing public school systems. One of the few where students perform worse each year, not better.
Who do you think Obama picked to be “Secretary of Education” . Yep the Head of the Chicago School System.
While he may not want all schools to fail, that is not as important to him as this persons record for supporting unions. You can look that up too.
It all comes down to Unions for Obama. Payoff, kickback, and like Joe Biden said at a lavish AFL-CIO Union retreat:
“You dance with the one who brung (sic) you, it is time to start dancing. You want Unions you got unions”

Posted by: MayBee | Mar 10, 2009 2:27:52 PM
Pretty soon Obama will insist that the State properly educate your children according his “value system.”

Posted by: BO Needs to Go | Mar 10, 2009 2:37:34 PM
You’re on my side, dude. Re-read the post.

why are you Republicans so against education?
The higher the education the lower the approval rating of the GOP.
The GOP idealogy “let’s keep the American people as uneducated as possible, so that they can continue to take the wealth of the poor and spread to the wealthiest”
Not this time folks.
Change has come to America!!!

Maybee:
“I am concerned President Obama hopes to expand universal preschool and lengthen the school year. I don’t want the state to be more responsible for raising children. It makes it too hard for good parents to spend time with their kids, and too easy for bad parents to abdicate responsibility.”
—————————————I hate the disappearance of half-day kindergarten. Luckily, private school was an option for our children at that age.

As an Ohio teacher, I am continually offended by Obama’s rhetoric.
Take a look online at South Korea’s educational system. Its base is a populous that holds education so dear that families pay about one third of their total income on education and believe this money is well spent.
The students who spend 8 hrs. in the classroom also get private tutoring after school that costs a family about $8,000 additional per year.
The society is one that reveres teachers and “parents here almost universally make their children’s education the family’s unquestioned priority. An experienced secondary-school teacher makes about 25% more than a comparable American teacher…”.
What really amazes me is that the American Federation of Teachers backed him and we gave him our votes. This is just more of the same teacher bashing that we keep hearing from folks who want to lay the problems with our educational system on the backs of the teachers. School problems are not a teacher problem. I’d like to see the day when our students spend every waking hour on studying like they do in S. Korea. Until they do, there is no comparison between the two totally different approaches to educating children.

Pretty soon Obama will insist that the State properly educate your children according his “value system.”
~~~~~~
He hasn’t gotten to that yet? I’m shocked!

As with so many other programs where government meddling has done nothing but raise costs while lowering quality, our 18th ranking in education compared to 24 other developed nations speaks more eloquently than do the majority of our high school graduates. Since the 1920′s, our per capita expenditure per student has increased tenfold to almost $8,000, as measured in constant dollars. Meanwhile, we are producing a nation of workers unable to even read or write at grade level. 20 of graduates are classified as functionally illiterate.
Obviously, more bureaucracy and money will not change the simple fact that where government gets involved, things go from bad to worse. I’m with Ron Paul– eliminate the Department of Education, and stop the endless federal meddling with states on the subject of education.
Allow communities to decide how best to educate their own children. Encourage support for home schooling. Let “Johnny’s mother” determine ‘why Johnny can’t read’, and not some faceless Washington bureaucrat who needs to defend his big budget and limited intellect.

drjohn- The GAO repots that schools in wealthier districts have 24% more funds per students than schools in poor districts. That is because the primary tool used to create this funding is through local property taxes. Do I need to insert a math lesson here?
I’m glad you enjoy your extreme partisan swagger in this forum. May-be it makes you feel better, but it doesn’t solve the problem or even promote a constructive debate.
LOL that you called me a “liberal leftie” when I think the unions are part of the problem.
The difference between you and me is I think the future of our educational system is more important than choosing sides (as you said to one poster) or shoving the fringe wing talking points of either side down someone’s throat.

Posted by: BB | Mar 10, 2009 2:52:57 PM
Obama cannot change his pants without a teleprompter.

Mr. Obama IS the right man in the right place at the right time. He carries the intellectual curiosity required to look deeply into the many issues facing this country and understand them both incrementally as well as how they influence each other.
He also has more on his plate than any new President in modern history.
He IS correct in working the economic crises on multiple front concurrently, given that our economy’s elements are not mutually exclusively but mutually interdependent.
That said, he also carries the responsibility to direct – redirect our country in many other areas with education reform right behind health care reform. So i agree with his vision, sequencing etc.
I would caution Mr. Obama not to get too far away from the details of this economic crises while it is still so fluid.
Dig into the management levels of the policy’s with respect to the economy’s needs. It is ONLY then we can assure the policy outlines and program requirements are/will be met.
Yes Sir, you are correct, Education desperately needs revision, just get the economy hitting on several cylinders before you pivot your resources.

Washington DC has a voucher program enabling some inner city kids to get a decent education. Parents are begging to keep it. Democrats are trying to kill it because it shows that vouchers can work.
That’s how much they care.

BO is a socialist who is wrecking this economy on purpose with his doomsday scenarios and policies. He wants to destroys capitalism and the free market so that it can be rebuilt under his marxist vision. It really is that simple.

Too many angry Republicans.
They make themselves known just by trying to put other people down and then use the name of GOD. A bunch of hypocrites.
Do yourselves and your nerves a favor. Stop watching FOX News. Get attached to hope and leave hate aside.
In a real democracy, everybody should want their President to succeed, then all succeed.

BJ
BO has so much faith in both chicago and washington’s public schools that he sends both his children to $18k per yer private schools, but yet opposed school vouchers. What a hypocrite.
People need to quit looking to the gov’t for solutions and realize that most often the problems are gov’t enduced.
The teacher’s unions and liberal lawyers have made good teachers powerless as disciplinarians and bad teachers totally secure in their jobs.

drjohn – What you posted does not change the fact that wealthier districts have more funds if the large chunk of the revenue for education comes from property taxes. Most states do use property taxes to cover the cost of eduction.. Cost per pupil per school district varies widely from state to state for many reasons and what is actually included in that cost per pupil also varies.
Money for each school district is dependent on numerous factors – e.g. if the state has gambling and if those revenues are put towards education, if you have re-distribution of education dollars from wealthier districts to poorer districts like w/Robin Hood in Texas, etc.
If only it were that black and white.

We congratulate the President for taking up the issue of education within the first fifty days of assuming office.Forget the pessimists who have no faith in anything,Obama has initiated discussions on one of the difficult problems.Reforming education is not easy but it must be done for the future as the nation’s competitiveness solely depends on the schools.

oh and i give Obama an F. why do i have to pay for other countries to provide abortion? why do i have to pay for embroynic stem cell research-let the private sector pay for it. i don;t agree with the gitmo closing-not without a clear plan, i believe this wil lbackfire when the closing date approaches. i don;t agree that we should reach out to the talibans,does that mean the WH wants the women to wear burkas and submit to men? i don;t agree with global warming. i think this is hoax to control us. we can go green responsbililty but not thru the progranda teaching of al gore.

stop blaming the teachers for kids not learning start blaming some of the parents and the kids who dont care ,,,, shocking but true there are lots of bad parents who have rasied bad kids..that go to school because of the law they have to go to school. well when bad kids go to school not caring to learn they make it hard for those that are there to learn . yes there are so bad teachers also that should never teach .
for those who say teachers don’t earn their pay need to go sub for a few months and see what really goes on inside the class room before opening your mouth about thier pay.they talked about getting rid of the bad teachers how about getting rid of the bad parents and students first.

I think as long as the education is system based and not child based, we will never have an education system that works. Its about the tests and the money. Lots of money. Do we ask the question, what does this child need to learn? The answer is different for each child. We are trying to have a one size fits all education system and it is not working.