At least someday he'll be able to say that he was for educational reform before he was against it.

I sigh with Sisk. On the other hand, it is probably too much to expect Obama to do otherwise. These are the Democratic primaries, after all.

Steve,

Do you think that there's any possibility that a President Obama would support vouchers? A Democratic Congress surely wouldn't press him on it, and the easiest way to appear to be doing something about education is to appropriate still more money.

Of course I don't know. I think Obama has noticed that more spending is not always the answer. I think he takes some conservative ideas seriously, having listened to them. And I think he knows that public schools, especially in large urban areas, are in trouble, and not for want of money. I suspect that singing the NEA's song is not his idea of a good time.

That's what I would expect a thoughtful politician with some experience of urban life would say, but I haven't heard or read him saying it. Any sources?

I wasn't quoting him. Obama's talked positively about charter schools, and criticized NCLB in a reasonable spirit. Do vouchers constitute a kind of "litmus test" for you? What do you do with about-face skeptics like Sol Stern? What will matter to me is whether Obama has a sound problem definition.

">">https://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=4d40a39e-8f57-4054-bd99-94bc9d19be1a"> This is somewhat relevant to the larger point, though it is not about education.