Those were the words that caught my attention as I walked through the Takoma Park Street Festival yesterday, blue skies beaming, my son Nico strapped to my chest, my wife Meghan at my side, rays of sun bouncing off approximately 517 "Obama for President" buttons (not to mention a "Farmer for Obama," button, a "Labor for Obama," button, and a "McCan't" button). So of course I turned around to find out what that was all about.
"Help Barack Obama become the next president," the man said, as he handed me a florescent-green flyer. And lo and behold, here's what it said:
PARTY TO SAVE THE WORLD
Congresswoman Donna Edwards,
Obama Education Advisor Jon Schnur
Tom Perez & Jamie Raskin
Takoma Park & Silver Spring for OBAMA
Food & Beverage Provided
Music by the Bush Doctrinaires and Minor Thoughts
The flyer also listed the event's sponsors; among a few dozen were the names "Alice Johnson Cain"--one of Chairman George Miller's top education staffers--and "Dianne Piche"--of the Citizens Commission on Civil Rights.
So what? Other than having fun as a bit of a spy--I'm pretty sure I'm the only "former Bush Administration official" living in the people's republic of Takoma Park--three points come to mind. First, I'm not the only one who thinks Jon Schnur has a real shot at being the next education secretary; he's turning into a bona fide superstar. Second, it's pretty amazing that a far-left party for Obama would feature an education reformer like Schnur, not, say Reg Weaver. The times they are a changing? And third, let us not pretend that "policy" is distinct and apart from "politics." Perhaps that goes without saying, but I'll admit to defining myself as a "policy wonk," not a political animal, and looked for allies in the Department of Education (during my time as a Bushie) who were likewise "separate" from the dirty world of electoral politics. (That wasn't hard to do; many of the policy wonks in the Bush Department of Education entered as registered Democrats, myself included.) But let's face it; that's all bogus. There's no way to push forward bold policies without a political mandate, which is what Obama's supporters seem to be working to achieve right now.
