July 25, 2008
Want to Know McCain's Higher-Education Agenda? You'll Just Have to Stay Tuned
Sen. John McCain’s chief education adviser, Lisa Graham Keegan, found herself in a tough spot Thursday when asked by the moderator of a New America Foundation forum to lay out the Republican presidential nominee’s agenda for higher education.
“I can’t do that because the Senator hasn’t done that yet,” Ms. Keegan said. “I apologize for the timing.”
“I am going to let him do that when he wants to,” Ms. Keegan said, “and simply say that he has been a long-term supporter and enthusiast about the idea that we have to connect kids in high schools immediately into their postsecondary experience, whatever that’s going to be. That transition is so fragile mostly because we are not doing a good job in the K-12 system.”
It was not like Ms. Keegan had nothing at all to say about education. The forum on John McCain and Barack Obama’s education plans focused mainly on how the two presidential candidates would improve public education from kindergarten through 12th grade, and she had plenty to say about Senator McCain’s plans to try to get more good teachers into schools through alternative certification.
On the subject of higher education, Ms. Keegan was at least able to suggest that Senator McCain will advocate using community colleges to offer dual enrollment programs to allow high-school students to inexpensively earn college credits.
Senator McCain has touched on higher education in his economic plan, which calls on the Education Department to take steps to ensure students continue to have access to loans for college. And his team of education advisers includes enough advocates of major change in higher education to suggest that he eventually will offer proposals that generate headlines.
Still, there is no question that, with the election just over three months away, Senator McCain is well behind his Democratic rival when it comes to offering up higher-education plans. Senator Obama has been discussing various higher-education planks since last fall, touching on several of them in a Chronicle of Higher Education interview published last November.
Peter Schmidt | Posted on Friday July 25, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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Senator Obama’s plan for higher education is filled with platitudes — and a few positions that I find highly objectionable.
Ever the verbal fence-straddler, Mr. Obama “gives a little to this side and a little to that side.” He is, for example, an ardent supporter of race preferences — but of course he also is in favor of giving some consideration to the poor white kids “from rural South Carolina who worked hard to beat the odds.” Equality for the individual across the board, with preferences given to none — which is the only “equality” our U.S. Constitution recognizes — is not part of Mr. Obama’s higher education agenda.
And, true to leftist form, he favors in-state tuition for non-citizens. So, an American college student from Arizona who wants to study in California must, as a citizen, mind you, pay out-of-state tuition, but illegal aliens get a free ride.
And, of course he believes that “diversity enriches education” ( although there isn’t a shred of research evidence to support that often repeated claim).
“The most important skill is knowledge”, Mr. Obama says. No kidding, Senator! What a platitude, if I ever heard one.
Finally, the good Senator’s frequently cited assertion that “we are always Americans first” is yet another platitude — if not an outright lie. For he also believes that “we shouldn’t ignore that race continues to matter.” Aren’t Americans of ALL racial backgrounds Americans, entitled to the same rights, Mr. Obama?
Barack Obama’s higher education agenda is offensive to Americans and our country’s Constitution. After all, our Constitution does not bestow rights on groups, only on individuals.
Senator McCain can hardly do worse than that.
— Ivorytowerreform Jul 25, 07:48 PM #
Oh, I think Old Man McShame can find a way to slink under the bar set by Obama. It’s easy to criticize while he doesn’t even have a platform.
It is somewhat embarrassing that the old guy can’t even put a paragraph or two together outlining his views on education.
— Grampy McShame Jul 28, 01:16 PM #