Sometimes the conventional wisdom is right; President-Elect Barack Obama has selected Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan as his secretary of education.?? Here's what our president, Chester E. Finn, Jr., has to say about it:
"Arne Duncan is a terrific pick, and not just because he's close to the President-elect and speaks Chicago-ese. He's a proven and committed and inventive education reformer, not tethered to the public-school establishment and its infinite interest groups, nor bedazzled by blandishments and commands from Washington. He's earned his spurs in a huge and challenging school district, is a force for positive change nationally, has navigated Chicago politics, has stood up to Margaret Spellings, and manages, with all that, to be a thoughtful, affable and likeable guy. If he's also allowed to pick his own team, education (and the Education Department) will be in good hands during a very challenging time. (If he's undercut by goofuses, ed school ideologues and union goons forced upon him by the Office of Presidential Personnel, however, he'll have to waste far too much time on internal battles as the fledgling Obama administration figures out which side of the Great Democratic Education Schism it is really on.)"
We'll have more (much more!) tomorrow.
