So the Bush Administration's new catch phrase is "American Competitiveness". He used it numerous times in his SOTU speech. And has set out to different parts of the country to drum it into our collective heads .
My first thought is that sports teams say that they want to be competitive when they know that they aren't very good. It's a little more positive than just admitting that they suck. By pushing this "competitiveness" phrasing as a new direction for the country, Bush is simply admitting that we are losing our competitive edge.
This is not the strong, macho message that Bush usually tries to front. And if you carry the line of reasoning any futher - it leads directly to questions about why we are failing to maintain our status as a world leader under Bush's Presidency. I can't wait for the MSM to ask these questions at Bush's next press conference, but I won't hold my breath. I know it is really just rhetoric with no substance behind it as usual, but it shows me that Bushco are really off their game. George is floundering for anything that might give him a bump - any bump in the polls.
Today during a photo-op at a Charter High School in Texas Bush said:
Laura and I are here because we believe it's important to spread AP classes all around the country. This is a unique place. The students here are really impressive people. They have decided to focus on the sciences and math and engineering. And this school helps lift their sights -- and one way it does so is to encourage them to take AP.
Well that sounds good doesn't it? But AP courses have been around since the mid 1950's. And these courses are for the highest achieving students who will be successful anyway. Investing precious education funding in AP courses to fix the education system is like giving tax breaks to only the wealthiest of the wealthy to spur the economy. The rich get richer and the smart get smarter and the rest of us are left out in the cold.
You're right. When a coach tells a team to be competitive, it means "You can't expect to win, but just don't embarrass yourselves!"
ReplyDeleteBefore we can start worrying about being competitive, we need a President who is not an embarassment!
All those students in the AP classes he's pushing better be in the same families that get the tax cuts because the house just cut 12.7 billion from the student loan program. Bush says he'll sign it.
ReplyDeleteHow dare he set foot in any school.
All the democrats and 13 republicans were against it. Passed 216-214. At lease there are some republicans coming over.
least.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost your silence on the issue of the rioting in the Middle East speaks volumes as to your priorities.
ReplyDeleteSecond, your inner egalitarian is fostering the nonsensical notion that we need to bring the gifted students down to the rest of the population lest they, perish the thought, excel. We need to teach to the level of the student. A student who lags behind his peers should be taught according to his proclivities, be it vo-tech or even post-graduation employment. The middle range of students should be prepared for a college education. What is inherently evil about devoting the time and the funding to developing the minds of the best and brightest for a future in the upper crust of government, business and science.