How the principle of No Child Left Behind means that Bush should be defeated.
My favorite moment was when Bush touted the No Child Left Behind Act. No more social promotion, he promised. “We are transforming our schools by raising standards and focusing on results. We are insisting on accountability.”
Wasn’t this speech, full of unfulfilled promises and appeals to good character, basically a plea for social promotion? Isn’t that the message of the entire Bush campaign? Shouldn’t the president have to show results, too?
I have been hoping since the start of this campaign that, in the end, moderate Republicans would peel away from Bush. In that light, Saletan’s reaction offers hope. It’s also lots of fun to read.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
Social Promotion? Ain't Nothing But.
I'm amazed by Saletan's apparent surprise in this and is other recent columns. Saletan has to know that George W. Bush's entire life has been about social promotion. He's the boy prince of a wealthy family with a recognizable name. His family got hi…