"Obama Looks to Lessons From Chicago in His National Education Plan"

- New York Times education plan article by Sam Dillon - September 9, 2008
- New York Times sex ed article by Larry Rohter - September 10, 2008

The first article is a portrayal of Barack Obama's promise of stronger nationwide educational programs. In it, he promises to strengthen early childhood classes and train thousands of new teachers to bolster both the education levels in underachieving schools and provide openings which would help offset the recent teacher layoffs. In a related controversy, Mr. Obama has weathered misinformed political flak in the shape of an advertisement concocted by rivals eager to twist his public image. The ad claimed that Obama favored "comprehensive sex ed in kindergarden", when in reality he was voting for an Illinois bill calling for "age and developmentally appropriate" sexual education in grades k-12. I think this claim is outrageous because, in my mind, to not only distort certain crucial facts, but deliberately lie to the public is a contradiction of everything "American" and an appalling violation of the Constitution. Sadly, it seems that in political circles this notion is shared by very few, if any, and is certainly contradicted by a hefty pile of historical precedents. The articles highlight some of the disparity between the two presidential candidates, and shows Obama's connection to the Federalists and Anti-Federalists ideals, at least on the issue of education. Mr. Obama's promised educational changes bear resemblance to the Federalist views, because in order to uphold his pledges in the case of his election the government would be required to standardize educational performance across the entire nation, contradicting the beliefs of the Anti-Federalists: that each of the states should be in charge of their own affairs.