Posted on 06/29/2002 8:01:20 AM PDT by JulieRNR21
AN EARLY 'VOTE'
Governor's earned second term
Politics will be politics, but facts are facts and right is right. We know this, but we seem constitutionally unable to put politics aside, face the facts and do the right thing unless we happen to be under direct surprise attack by mysterious, swarthy terrorists with beards.
It's not all that hard; we could simply start by agreeing on the obvious and going from there. There doesn't have to be any momentous emergency at hand; we can look at where we are and easily discern all the interlocking emergencies we are busily cooking up on our own, at any given moment. Take global warming. Take Social Security. Take health care. Take -- please, for goodness' sake, take -- education, which in the end will be our best salvation when all these other brewing emergencies start to come into their own.
Take Florida, just about the warmest, oldest, sickest spot we've got in these United States. You'd think we'd be investing like crazy in the generations who stand to inherit our challenges, but instead we remain -- as the Florida Education Association pointed out this week -- the 40th-ranked state in per-pupil spending, 44th in class size, 50th in school size, 50th in high school graduation rates, 47th in SAT scores and 38th in ACT scores. Those who deny a causal link between spending and performance are spitting into the wind.
Gov. Jeb Bush does not deny the link; rather, he uses money as the carrot to offset the stick of labeling poorly performing schools, in an elaborate reform effort that gains nuance with each passing year. But with the governor up for re-election, and the teachers' lobby using Florida's pitiful statistics as a means to embarrass Bush, his mouthpiece Katie Muniz was quick to blow off the association's report as just more political gamesmanship.
"They have endorsed one of our opponents, so I guess I question their motives," she told the Tampa Tribune. Notice, however, that she didn't question the facts, which remain unequivocally bad news no matter how much Bush's people insist that education spending in Florida has increased on their watch, when you apply their arcane formula that adjusts for everything except rising costs and increasing numbers of kids.
The problem is that this posturing is so unnecessary, and it serves no one -- certainly not Bush, who has every sunny prospect of winning re-election, barring some unforeseeable cataclysmic event that keeps all white and Hispanic voters from making it to the polls. And, putting politics aside and focusing purely on what is factual and right for Florida, another Bush term is our most desirable outcome. Consider the alternatives: Janet Reno is an admirable and interesting and good-hearted public servant who has made a thorough mess of every high-profile job she's held; and Bill McBride is a promising and intelligent would-be public servant with absolutely no experience in elected office -- which, if you recall, is exactly what we got for a governor our last time out. Why the heck should we go through another bout of on-the-job training at the most crucial point of power in our state?
The greatest objection to Bush's candidacy for governor -- his utter lack of experience -- has ceased to be a factor. He's a quick study who has grown in office. After a boyishly shaky start, he has been gracious under criticism, reasonably honest and undeniably dedicated. His administration is remarkably efficient, by Tallahassee standards; and the career state bureaucrats who have earned respect for doing their jobs well seem to be happy in their work -- always a key indicator of what's really going on up there.
Bush is not a statesman yet -- his biases still favor politically expedient tax cuts over meaningful tax reform -- but he just might become one. He's smart; he works hard; he has shown that he can put the interests of Florida's people first. He appears to have learned from his mistakes in the heedless rush to overhaul our school systems, and he's our best bet to get us out of the mess he so adroitly helped to create. He understands, as the Democratic candidates do not, that we've gone too far to turn back, and to abandon his measures now would inflict even more harm on teachers and kids.
In short, I'm willing to put politics aside, because Jeb Bush has earned my vote. I'm hopeful that in his second term, Bush can put politics aside and earn an honorable place in Florida's history.
Barbara Peters Smith is a writer living in Sarasota. Her e-mail address is Bradamante@aol.com.
Naw...won't go there....not prudent....LOL
LOL PING
Someone asked me to try and find that page full of school-budget spending numbers which was broken down district by district...and I can't find it. I am afraid it's been archived to PDF format, which ruins the formerly oh-so-easy proof that the "school buget cuts!" screamers are way off base.
(**sigh**)
"Vote for Jeb!"
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