Thursday, July 17, 2008

Obama's Hypocrisy on School Vouchers

This New York Sun editorial today "Obama and the AFT" is an eye opener regarding the candidate's hypocritical stance on school vouchers.

The editorial points out that while Obama has said in the past that he would support school vouchers "if empirical research showed that they improved educational outcomes," now that he is the Democratic party nominee he has flipped another flop and said that he is against the idea of giving parents of poor kids the same chance to send their children to private schools as rich folk.

Obama said in prepared remarks before the American Federation of Teachers convention "What I do oppose is using public money for private school vouchers. We need to focus on fixing and improving our public schools; not throwing our hands up and walking away from them."

Obama himself has thrown up his hands and walked away from public schools because he sends his own two daughters to private schools.

Besides, there is plenty of "empirical research" as the editorial points out, that confirms the fact that vouchers improve public schools in areas where they are used by creating competitive pressure. But don't hold your breath waiting for Obama to change his position now that his criteria for supporting vouchers has been met.

Not as long as Democratic candidates are beholden to the teacher's unions for their support.

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