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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Those damned vouchers

What's Mallard raving abut today?

Barack Obama, Vouchers.

Barack Obama supported vouchers in February? Really?

Not so much.

What Obama actually said was that if studies of voucher programs showed that they worked, then "whatever my preconceptions, my attitude is you do what works for the kids."
The executive director of the lobbying group Democrats for Education Reform, Joseph Williams, said the response was unusual for a Democratic politician, praising Mr. Obama for making his bottom line helping children learn rather than ideology.

"I don't think anyone can call him a voucher supporter out of this, but it is an intriguing response," Mr. Williams said. "It is a different kind of answer than most of us are used to hearing from politicians."
In other words: Obama would let facts guide his decision-making, rather than strict ideology. Suddenly I understand why Mallard is so threatened by Obama.

I'd call Mallard a lying sack of crap, but it's hardly worth stating the obvious.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The thing about the voucher system is this: One way or another, you're paying for public schools. So you essentially have the choice of paying for one good public system, or a lousy one along with its supposed "free-market competition."

Really, the whole voucher idea is just another political placebo. The GOP's been coming out with a lot of those lately.

Anonymous said...

The voucher system is just a way for parents to get paid to have thier kids taught that the earth is flat.

Kaitlyn said...

"whatever my preconceptions, my attitude is you do what works for the kids." = "screw them, they can't vote"

Question - wouldn't private school educators be in a union as well?

Vouchers are just an excuse to ignore public schools. The schools are doing bad, so let's take money and support away from them. And wait for them to improve.

Or am I being simple? I did go to public schools.


Hey, here's some silliness - private schools are elitist. You can only get in if you have money or can get a scholarship. So not supporting vouchers is elitist.

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes, vouchers.
"Let-the-market-handle-it" education.

Does anyone else here remember how, just a few short years ago, "privatizing" Social Security was being pushed as a really, really good idea. Just let everyone invest their funds in the stock market and all would be fine.

Bush/Rove et al, didn't get away with that one. Strange, they don't seem to be mentioning that idea any more.

(More seriously: Whew, talk about dodging bullet. For a while there it looked like they were going to pull it off.)

Anonymous said...

What *I*'m wondering about is why it's Obama's tie that's weighing the relative political power of unions and children.

Michael Foley said...

David B, it was recently revealed that Obama's tie also has telepathy. I think it's clear now where the true power lies. Every puppet needs a puppet master.

Anonymous said...

I would say it's impossible, but I know what I'm dealing with, for one to support the voucher system with all it's supposed advantages and naysay universities.

Remember that little quiz taken by Yale (or Harvard, or whatever Ivy League PRIVATE school) that everyone failed and Mallard positively gloated about?

That is a private market competition education. So, Mallard, you like it or you don't. Quit flip-flopping like a landed guppy.

rewinn said...

Baracks "support of vouchers" consists of a detailed, nuanced position from which Tinny pulled a few words.

Tinny might as well present the Ten Commandments as:

"Thou shalt kill ...

... thy neighbor's ass"