President Obama has been criticized in some quarters for both his mastery and over-reliance on the spoken word. When critics - most often Republicans - go for the president's jugular vein, it's almost as if they view its close proximity to his sonorous voicebox as an added treat, salivating over an imagined opportunity to deprive him of his dulcet tones and persuasive oratory skills.
The president's supporters - and the president himself in a particularly memorable speech during his campaign - insist that words matter, and that when it comes to the Bully Pulpit, you use it or lose it.
Just this week, Arne Duncan, President Obama's Secretary of Education, had some very choice words. Endorsing a local school board decision to fire every teacher, guidance counselor, and key administrator at the abysmally failing Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, Secretary Duncan noted, "This is hard work and these are tough decisions, but students only have one chance for an education...when schools continue to struggle, we have a collective obligation to take action."
The secretary made his remarks after revelations that only about half of Central Falls' students graduate, and that only seven percent of its 11th graders were proficient in math in 2009. Hardly a track record that inspires. The entire school staff will be let go at the end of the academic year, with a provision that no more than 50 percent can be rehired.
And the direct quote in a local newspaper by the top education official in the land speaks volumes. The Providence Journal doesn't just cold-call the U.S. education secretary and say, "Whaddaya think?" This was proactive and purposeful outreach on the part of the Obama Administration. They willfully and confidently strode into this lion's den.
Duncan could have clammed up, parsed semantics, or chosen not to get involved in a dust-up that embodies incredibly strong sentiments on both sides of the argument. But he didn't. At a time when beads of sweat were undoubtedly starting to form on the upper lips of Rhode Island school administrators faced with an onslaught of criticism from teachers, unions, and some parents, Secretary Duncan swooped in, planting his flag firmly on the side of providing kids with the best education possible. And don't think such a controversial statement wasn't run up the hierarchical flagpole - when Duncan spoke in this case, he was speaking for the president.
To the president's critics: fair enough - we may have a guy in the Oval Office who over-indulges in symbolism and probably derives a disproportionate degree of his political currency out of an ability to turn a phrase.
But let's give credit where credit is due when it comes to saying the right thing and picking the right fight. Words do matter.
Leave a comment