To Which I Would Add...

Karl of Protein Wisdom studies the vapor trail of the Obama resume but he overlooks Obama's involvement and non-achievement in public school reform, a topic which includes a bonus link to unrepentant Weatherman Bill Ayers.

A bit from Karl on Obama's early years in Chi-town:

From June 1985 to May 1988, Obama was a community organizer with the Developing Communities Project in Chicago, working primarily to organize a housing project called Altgeld Gardens.  According to the Boston Globe:

For all its impact on Obama, Altgeld Gardens today seems far from the kind of success story politicians like to tout.

Dozens of buildings are boarded up, with fences surrounding much of the property. The roads are a potholed mess. Blinking lights illuminate a series of towers where police have mounted cameras.

That’s change you can believe in.  Moreover, Hazel Johnson, who has lived at Altgeld Gardens since 1962 – and was an organizer long before Obama appeared on the scene – claims Obama has exaggerated his role in getting asbestos removed from the projects.  Otherwise, Obama did not get much done — and even had difficulty explaining what a “community organizer” did.

Ahh, well - let us not give short shrift to Obama's involvement in public education reform.

There was a city-wide push for public school reform in 1987-88 after Secretary of Education Bill Bennett called Chicago's schools the "worst in America".  A number of different civic-minded coalitions emerged to promote their reform agendas.  Barack Obama's Developing Communities project allied with the ABCs Coalition, a group apparently coordinated by (your patience is about to be rewarded) former Weatherman Bill Ayers [No Quarter link].  Other groups in the ABCs coalition were Chicago United and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, both of which are linked to businessman and philanthropist Thomas Ayers, Bill Ayers father.  This report describes the 1988 reform effort; this photo from the back of the report links Obama and the Ayer's family.

Obama was off at Harvard from 1988 to 1991, but flashing forward a bit, he re-partnered with Bill Ayers for another school reform effort in 1995, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.  With much fanfare at the White House philanthropist Walter Annenberg announced a $500 million challenge grant program to spur school reform efforts across America.  Bill Ayers led the effort to bring some of that money to Chicago, which resulted in the creation of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge in 1995.  Barack Obama was selected as the group's first chairman and Bill Ayers worked closely with the group through his newly-formed Chicago School Reform Collaborative.

The press has not exactly picked up on this Obama-Ayers connection, and Obama's Fact Check team seems to have amnesia in describing this long involvement between the two men.

As to why Obama is not touting his long experience with school reform - well, not much was actually accomplished in the 1988 round, and the Chicago Annenberg Challenge was viewed more as an opportunity to learn from failure than as an actual success.  And just maybe the campaign team feels a bit of awkwardness with the Ayers connection.

However, public school reform, unlike asbestos mitigation, is a topic most Americans are interested in discussing.  We will see whether Obama can hide his embarrassing history beyond November (It was Mission Accomplished as far as hiding it from David Brooks last week).

Keep Hope alive!  And Change, too.

MORE:  JM Hanes has more in the comments.

Comments

[largebill]

Tom,

Don't you understand? Results don't matter. All that matters is that they care.

[section9]

FIGHTTHESMEARSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

Eventually, the thinness of the resume and the unbearable lightness of Obama's being shall dawn upon the American people.

But then again, Obama is up against the Galactically Incompetent McCain ("Kick Me, Please!") Campaign.

So, who's collecting money to send McGuire to the Obama Inaugural Ball?

[Karl]

Like the Woods Fund stuff, I considered putting the Ayers/ education stuff in there, but punted mostly for length. It is also not a part of the bio he stresses -- though I think that's why it's great you have been highlighting it.

[Pofarmer]

All that matters is that they care.

What if they're just padding their resume, poorly?

[PeterUK]

Altgeld Gardens,Old Money Gardens,was someone extracting the urine?

[kim]

Check out what Los Angeles is accomplishing with charter schools.
=====================================

[kim]

I do think that campaign spots of the community that Obama organized are in order, complete with automated police surveillance, and flashing lights.
=====================

[clarice]

If he ever is asked about school reform you can bet your bottom dollar that he'll mumble on about his work reforming schools, tap dance, sway, snap his fingers and the press will clap.

[PeterUK]

Chicago Public Housing No wonder many of them prefer prison.

[PeterUK]

"Throw out your hands, stick out your tush, hands on your hips, give 'em a push."

[sbw]

[OT] Investors Business Daily, in an editorial, claimed China was drilling off Cuba for oil. "The U.S. Congress has voted consistently to keep 85% of America's offshore oil and gas off-limits, while China and Cuba drill 60 miles from Key West, Fla."

In 2006, according to the NYT, the China was reported to have inked a contract that allowed for drilling, but I have seen no evidence that they put a bit into the muck. A professor and former oil pooh-bah in Miami insists that not bits have been set. Separately, Brazil's Petrobras is supposed to have an agreement with Cuba to drill offshore.

Where does one go for the facts on the contracts to drill, and/or the actual drilling?[/OT]

[Rick Ballard]

SBW,

Rigzone covers that pretty well. Venezuela and Mexico are better potential partners than China for Cuba.

BTW - you're hunch on the use of VLCCs for storage could be correct. There are a number of single hull VLCCs which have become available due to restrictions on their usage in certain areas. Double hulls are mandated to be used worldwide by 2010 while single hulls will be banned. Russia recently accelerated the imposition on the ban on single hulls to match the EU ban.

[JM Hanes]

I'm glad to see someone looking into Obama's magical mystery tour in Chicago, TM. Despite the skepticism I've voiced on the Ayers front, I give you serious points for persistently banging the Chicago drum.

"It was Mission Accomplished as far as hiding it from David Brooks last week"

Aside from The Outsourced Brain, Brooks has been disappointing this former fan since shortly after he took up writing for the Times. This kind of thin gruel seems typical:

Obama endorses many good ideas and is more specific than the McCain campaign, which hasn’t even reported for duty on education. But his education remarks give the impression of a candidate who wants to be for big change without actually incurring the political costs inherent in that enterprise.

Holy Shades of Bill Clinton: In Obamaland, risk assessment and polling might as well be synonyms. If you're looking for someone who is willing to take the hits that come with being a real agent of change, Bush is your guy.

Here's Obama on education, in the recent Jake Tapper interview:

TAPPER: You talked about the need to change the status quo in education today.

OBAMA: Right.

TAPPER: But one of the ways that proponents of school choice say that the best way to change the status quo is to give parents, inner-city parents a choice. Why not?

OBAMA: Well, the problem is, is that, you know, although it might benefit some kids at the top, what you're going to do is leave a lot of kids at the bottom. We don't have enough slots for every child to go into a parochial school or a private school. And what you would see is a huge drain of resources out of the public schools.

So what I've said is let's foster competition within the public school system. Let's make sure that charter schools are up and running. Let's make sure that kids who are in failing schools, in local school districts, have an option to go to schools that are doing well.

But what I don't want to do is to see a diminished commitment to the public schools to the point where all we have are the hardest-to-teach kids with the least involved parents with the most disabilities in the public schools. That's going to make things worse, and we're going to lose the commitment to public schools that I think have been so important to building this country.

TAPPER: So it would help some kids, but overall it would be bad for the system?

OBAMA: I think it would be overall bad for most kids.

That's what Obama looks like taking a stand. The guy manufactures strawmen the way other people cut out strings of paper dolls. [See: National Discussion on Race, Philadelphia] My favorite bit from that same interview is the part Ann posted yesterday:

TAPPER: But have you ever worked across the aisle in such a way that entailed a political risk for yourself?

OBAMA: Well, look, when I was doing ethics reform legislation, for example, that wasn't popular with Democrats or Republicans. So any time that you actually try to get something done in Washington, it entails some political risks. But I think the basic principle which you pointed out is that I have consistently said, when it comes to solving problems, like nuclear proliferation or reducing the influence of lobbyists in Washington, that I don't approach this from a partisan or ideological perspective. And the same is true when it comes to the economy. The same is true when it comes to national security. You know, this administration, the Bush administration, has made, for example, the war on terror into a sharply partisan issue. But the truth is, is that I admire some of the foreign policy of George Bush's father. And I've said so before. I think that there's a tradition of us working together to make sure that we are dealing with the threats that are out there and that we are building a consensus here in the United States. That's the kind of approach I intend to take when I'm president of the United States.

Reed it and weap Jon Cary! Shorter OBAMA: Nope.

[clarice]

I think jmh should be Russert's replacement.

[MayBee]

I want to marry JMH, now that it's legal here.

Another bit from Brooks:
He’s for the vast panoply of pre-K and after-school programs that most of us are for.

Who is this "most" and "us" he speaks of?
When was the last time Obama mentioned his support for universal pre-K.

[MayBee]

That's what Obama looks like taking a stand. The guy manufactures strawmen the way other people cut out strings of paper dolls.

Yes. What I find he does is kind of a "on the one hand" followed by "on the other hand" in which neither hand actually answers the question, but the listener is led to believe the two hands somehow meet in the middle.
We are each left to imagine how our Obama might actually accomplish the middle bit, and for some reason his motions have been enough to convince many right-thinking people that of course Obama would do it the way they'd like to see it done.

[MayBee]

I'm spamming the thread here.
TM- you should email StopTheSmears (or whatever it's called) and tell them about this Ayers connection smear you've heard. See if they debunk it.

[Sue]

I want to marry JMH, now that it's legal here.

I believe bigamy is still against the law. ::grin::

[bad]

TM NRO's The Corner has a link to your "The Chicago Way" post.

[Soylent Red]

What in the hell is this Developing Communities Project anyway? Where do I get their tax information? Who sits on their board?

Seems to me that this was a make-work organization used to shuttle funds between public sector and NGO leeches. Because they damn sure didn't accomplish anything of note.

[PeterUK]

If you think Obama is bad on education,take a look at him on Business Tax - WSJ

[Pofarmer]

But the truth is, is that I admire some of the foreign policy of George Bush's father

Like the premature evacuation from Iraq, for instance. Or maybe the tax increases. Hard to say for sure.

Seems to me that this was a make-work organization used to shuttle funds between public sector and NGO leeches.

Sounds about par for the course. Wasn't it a part of ACORN or something? That connection seems to flit about.

[Ranger]

But the truth is, is that I admire some of the foreign policy of George Bush's father

Yeah, like "having the courage" to sit back and watch Yugoslavia fall apart (because if you just ignore a problem long enough it will solve itsef, right?).

[sbw]

Rick, thanks for the pointer to Rigzone. Sure is nice having expertise lurking these threads.

[PeterUK]

From the 6:10 link,Comrade Obama,

"and a strong government hand is needed to assure that wealth is distributed more equitably."

[ben]

"From the 6:10 link,Comrade Obama,

"and a strong government hand is needed to assure that wealth is distributed more equitably.""

The Obamakomisariat would like to correct that statement and add "in your pocket" after the word "hand".

[ben]

"But the truth is, is that I admire some of the foreign policy of George Bush's father"

Like the First Gulf War? the one Kerry voted against? The one Teddy Kennedy said the Pentagon had ordered 45k body bags for? Or did he like the fact GHWB didn't sit down "face to face" with Noriega before he invaded Panama and nabbed him, sending him to the U.S. where he continues to rot in jail?

[JM Hanes]

Clarice: I just want to ask the follow up questions, like, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Maybee: LOL! By the time I get tired of being single again, it will probably be legal here too. I recognize the one hand/other hand/somehow thing you're talking about. He's such a great listener, isn't he? I don't remember the last time he mentioned universal pre-K, but I do remember being struck by what the February Obama said (emphasis mine):

If you're ready for change, we can assure that every child in America has the best education this country has to offer from the day that child is born to the day that child graduates from college

Top that off with ObamaCare and he's gotchya from cradle to grave.

[clarice]

jmh, what I most admire about you--other than your incredibly lucid writing--is that you can stay awake through these long nonsensical pol riffs. For me, somewhere in the middle of the first graph of blather my mind has wandered off never to return.

[MikeS]

It sounds like Obama spent $49.2 million on an unsuccessful project to reform Chicago schools.

I imagine it would be easy to spend $49 million if you bought real estate or some other really big ticket items, but how expensive is reform? Who gets the money when you buy reform and what product or service do they provide for $49 million?

[JM Hanes]

Here ya go, Maybee. Obama on economics:

"I've got Bob Rubin on one hand [as an adviser] and [former Labor Secretary] Bob Reich on the other....I tend to be eclectic." Mr. Reich, has long championed infrastructure spending to boost jobs and the economy, and is a favorite of labor. He frequently and famously feuded with Mr. Rubin early in Mr. Clinton's term over the administration's ideological direction

From the same back and forth, via Instapundit:

"Globalization and technology and automation all weaken the position of workers," he said, and a strong government hand is needed to assure that wealth is distributed more equitably. He spoke aboard his campaign bus, where a big-screen TV was tuned to the final holes of the U.S. Open golf tournament.

I thought it was pretty amazing when Hillary said you can't be a Democrat if you're not for universal healthcare. Obama's forthright commitment to redistributing wealth is astonishing.

Clarice: I have to admit that I've actually watched a couple of Obama speeches with the sound turned off.

[Ann]

I just want to ask the follow up questions, like, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

JMH,

That is why you would be so successful. :)

By the way, I would never recommend anyone watch "The View" but Omarosa Obama will be on for the full hour tomorrow and it should be entertaining. Will she wear a flag pin? Will she dish the dirt on Obama? Who has the stomach to watch?

[Ranger]

Well, the campaign ads just keep writing themselves:

Barack Obama thinks that criminal prosecutions are the way to deal with terrorists:

"And, you know, let's take the example of Guantanamo. What we know is that, in previous terrorist attacks -- for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center, we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated."

Unfortunately, we didn't get all of them, and 8 years later they returned to finish the job...

[Images of aircraft hitting the World Trade Center]

[Images of the Twin Towers collapsing]

This is what success in the War on Terror looks like to Barack Obama.

[Porchlight]

Who gets the money when you buy reform and what product or service do they provide for $49 million?

My guess is that first they hired a bunch of buzzword-using administrators to run the thing, who then spent a bunch of money hiring consultants, commissioning studies, developing standards, creating visions and missions, hosting conferences and workshops, etc. Then they doled out more money to dozens of schools, most of whom spent it poorly because that's what public schools do. Factor that over 11 years and it's easy to see how 49.2 million could more or less evaporate with zero to show for it. Less than zero, really, considering that the labor and money could have been put to much better use.

Frankly I'm surprised the whole thing didn't cost 100 million.

[clarice]

You forgot the cost of facilitators and their power point equipment but otherwise, right on..

[Ranger]

Less than zero, really, considering that the labor and money could have been put to much better use.

Posted by: Porchlight | June 17, 2008 at 09:31 PM

But then all of Bill Ayers' revolutionarally inspired grad students would have had to actually find jobs after graduating, rather than getting on the Education Reform gravy train.

[PeterUK]

"It sounds like Obama spent $49.2 million on an unsuccessful project to reform Chicago schools."

"Who gets the money when you buy reform and what product or service do they provide for $49 million?"

Well,it looks like $00.2 million has just gone missing already.Seems that is how it is done,keep the change.

[Porchlight]

Faciliators, how could I forget? I had to take a course in facilitating not too long ago, so I could help run workshops for my university department. Let's just say that many markers and flip pads were used, and the word "consensus" was thrown around a lot. What hell on earth a state university can be.

[Porchlight]

***Facilitators***

[bad]

Who has the stomach to watch?

Anyone with anti-nausea pills and reliable barf bags can handle this assignment Ann. Bad, reporting for duty!!!!!

[GMax]

How is this helping her kids? And how is she going to pay for those piano lessons if she is flying off to NY every time Whoopi calls?

[centralcal]

bad, Ann - how about you two live blog it for the rest of us? I have to work and have no T.V. available (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).

The new Jacquie O (oops, I mean Michelle O) is supposed to be warm and fuzzy. No? We'll surely see how well Caroline Kennedy has done her make over.

[bad]

Centralcal

I'll give it a shot. Don't expect much....

Drudge has a link to an article on the kinder, gentler Michelle. Be interesting to see if she can maintain that new vibe with the crazy libs of The View validating and encouraging her lefticity.

[centralcal]

Oh yeah, I wanna know who at JOM is reading up on (or re-reading) Winnie the Pooh. Y'know if Barry O is elected, our foreign policy may be based on this deeply relevant tome.

[centralcal]

bad: Michelle can be many things, but I have a strong sense that "kinder" and "gentler" are not among her innate attributes. But, we shall see.

I look forward to tomorrow. I know you will do a job of honest and fair and balanced reporting!

They (her handlers) will, however, have to heavily medicate her, I'm thinking. How can you maintain grace and poise with Whoopie and Joy? Is that do-able?

[sbw]

Pooh rocks!

[sbw]

Pooh: "When you are a bear of very little brain, and you think of things, you sometimes find that a thing which seemed very 'thingish' inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it."

That could be an Obamism.

[bad]

This would all go better tomorrow if drinking were permitted at 10am.

[Ann]

Bad,
I love your sense of humor. It keeps me going on days like today.

Centracal,

Well, if I have the excellent company of bad, how could I say no.
Reporting for duty! We need to get JMH to join forces with us for the sure sake of comical style advice.

Please Elizabeth, bring a copy of Winnie the Pooh tomorrow. :)
Someone today, said John Kerry would make a perfect Eeyore. LOL

[Rick Ballard]

"We'll surely see how well Caroline Kennedy has done her make over."

My bet? About as well as her brother flew airplanes. Or her cousin was liked by the people of Maryland. Or her other cousin distributes oil.

If Michelle had any luck, she would have drawn a swarm of locusts rather than a single Kennedy.

I'll bet she has nicer clothes though. That's a safe one.