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Jewish World Review Sept. 10, 1999/29 Elul, 5759
David Limbaugh
Dubya confounds again
http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- GEORGE W. BUSH'S phenomenal popularity has confounded policy wonks on both sides of the political spectrum in part because he has yet to define himself ideologically. Democrats are scratching their heads in consternation, utterly impotent to develop a strategy to counter Dubya when they can't even pin him down on the issues. Conservative Republicans are equally perplexed and monumentally distrustful, believing that true conservatives are unapologetic about their policy positions. In the meantime, the bulk of Republican voters and many Clinton-weary Democrats appear untroubled by Dubya's vaguely defined image. They view him as the one person who has the best chance to defeat Clinton's tainted successor, Al Gore, and restore integrity to the White House. Members of the press are equally frustrated with Dubya's perceived evasiveness. There is nothing they hate worse (other than conservatism) than a politician who won't cooperate with them by gushing forth on all the issues. After all, they have to write about something. And Dubya hasn't been willing to give them any material. Well, they thought they were going to get even with Bush. They fabricated front-page news out of a mere rumor about his cocaine usage that was unsupported even by an allegation. Just as they were closing in for the kill, Dubya slipped their noose by confronting them directly on the very issue of disclosure. How dare he draw his line in the sand by challenging their time-honored mantra, "the public's right to know"? Worse yet, he seems to have gotten away with it. Last week, Bush finally offered us some real meat to sink our teeth into by unveiling his education proposal. Or did he? It seems that his plan, though specific in nature, does not lend itself to easy ideological classification. There are aspects to please and rankle both liberals and conservatives, while intriguing those in the center. So, Bush confounds again. His first major policy revelation, rather than finally defining him, exacerbates his already mysterious political persona. Liberals, conservatives and the press are left shaking their heads in bewilderment (albeit in various directions), and Bush is again laughing -- at least winking -- all the way to the electoral bank. Bush, tailoring his philosophy of "compassionate conservatism" to education, advocated stripping federal dollars away from underperforming schools and giving the money to parents. Bush continues to demonstrate his political acuity. It was no accident that he chose this issue first. While education has long been a priority for him, he also knows that it tops the list of voter priorities for campaign 2000 far ahead of issues like taxes. Polls reveal that 79 percent of Americans consider pledges to improve schools to be very important influences in determining their vote for president in 2000. Bush's plan would require that schools receiving Title I money, which constitutes $7.7 billion annually and subsidizes approximately 20 percent of public school students, test their students in academic basics each year. If schools failed to improve after three years, the federal funds would be diverted to parents, who could use them to enroll their kids in other public or private schools, or for tutoring. This plan is anathema to liberals and the NEA because it promises vouchers to students of incompetent public schools. But it is even scarier for some conservatives because it could lead to federally mandated testing standards. Even if the standards are initially to be developed by the states, surely there will be minimum federal requirements, as there always are attached to federal funds. Conservatives believe that federal tests will inevitably lead to a federally controlled national curriculum -- one that is characterized by politically correct indoctrination rather than academically objective facts and principles. It is true that Bush's plan requires academic accountability as he promised it would, but does it restore local autonomy as he also pledged? I, for one, remain unconvinced.
I hope as Bush continues to unfold his policy agenda, he
will place slightly less emphasis on innovation and more
on time-tested principles. Conservatism may benefit
from a marketing makeover but its tenets are just fine.
Grass-roots conservatives desperately want Dubya to
demonstrate his genuine conservatism. But as for now,
they are still patiently waiting for more
09/07/99: Pat, savior or spoiler?
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