The Democrats' Pragmatic Candidate For President

This from Alexander Russo at This Week in Education:

The cover art may be offensive (or just dumb), but this week's New Yorker includes a long Obama profile by Ryan Lizza (Making It) that seems to confirm many of the things that I and other friendly critics have been saying for months now: "Perhaps the greatest misconception about Barack Obama is that he is some sort of anti-establishment revolutionary.

Rather, every stage of his political career has been marked by an eagerness to accommodate himself to existing institutions rather than tear them down or replace them."

Other notable tidbits: Obama's oft-touted accomplishments as a community organizer were, by his own admission, "extraordinarily modest."

Obama recently refused to support Will Burns, a former aide and protege who is headed to the state legislature. Several of his onetime supporters like Toni Preckwinkle have become disenchanted with Obama's moves to the center.

For my April article about Obama's pragmatic role on education issues in Slate, go here.

Paying Charters To Take NCLB Kids

National education policy wonk Alexander Russo responded to yesterday's KSN&C post on Rahm Emanuel's plan to "pay charters to take NCLB kids."

On This Week in Education:

I'm not against choice or charters, but there's something wrong here. Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel wants to create a $300 million program to let kids in NCLB restructuring schools transfer to charter schools that would include paying charters "supplemental funding" to handle any influx. Promoting the program or providing transportation I get, but don't charters already get public funding for kids they serve? Giving charters a bounty for NCLB kids seems like an unnecessary and unfair way to go.