We Told You He Was Just Like Bob Dole

Well, it was School Daze out on the campaign trail today, with Barack Obama giving some schoolin' to Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain, including going to the Way Back Machine, to remind Fly Boy of his past position.

Here's the new Obama Ad, hitting Stumblin' Bumblin Johnny on Education;


From Sam Stein, over on The HuffPo;

Linking McCain to "ideologues," Obama declared in his speech Tuesday, "you certainly don't reform our education system by calling to close the Department of Education. That would just make it harder for us to give out financial aid, harder for us to keep track of how our schools are doing, and lead to widening inequality in who gets a college degree."

Republican officials and McCain staffers, meanwhile, are in full-out counter-attack mode, criticizing Obama for his education policies and claiming that the Senator is misrepresenting McCain's proposals on the matter.

"Senator Barack Obama's new campaign attack ad on education," wrote spokesman Tucker Bounds this morning, "claims that John McCain's economic plan will divert money from public education without any factual citation or basis." The campaign provided a list of resolutions increasing funding for federal education efforts that McCain supported.

But Bounds' statement made no mention of McCain's previous support for doing away with the Department of Education. Neither did two counter-attack emails blasted out by the Republican National Committee.

Hmmm ... "Calling to close the Department of Education"?

Holy Fingernails-scratching-down-a-blackboard Batman!

Over here teacher! ... Pick me! ... My hand is raised! ...

Ahh, the teacher chooses Greg Sargent, over on TPM;

Here's the full context of a CNN interview on December 11, 1994 (via Nexis), when Newt-mania was gripping the land:

FRANK SESNO: Senator McCain, would you favor doing away with the Department of Housing and Urban Development or the Department of Energy?

Sen. JOHN McCAIN: I would certainly favor doing away with the Department of Energy and I think that given the origins of the Department of Education, I would favor doing away with it as well. HUD had experienced many failures under both Republican and Democrat administrations and I would certainly want to revamp it from the bottom up, because, clearly, public housing in America is almost as big a disaster as the welfare program

WOW!

The Department of Energy (something tells me he's going to get a chalky eraser flung at his head on this one pretty soon) and the Department of Education!

Ready to dump'em faster then his first wife.

Now, was this in his Middle-Age Maverick period, or still part of the Early-Age Maverick time?

Certainly before he became an "Original Maverick".

And, who was the last Presidential candidate to embrace shutting down the Department of Education?

None other that that other Ball of Dynamo ...

Drumroll, please ....

Bob Dole!

From the PBS Newshour;

In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran for president with the promise that if he were elected, he would abolish the Department of Education. His opponent, President Jimmy Carter promised to protect the department, which he had created several years earlier. The department still exists, but the Republicans are gearing up to fulfill Reagan's promise.

Presidential candidate Bob Dole has said the funding for his $2.5 billion voucher program would come from ending Goals 2000 and cutting deep into the Department of Education's bureaucracy. On September 9, 1996, while campaigning in Georgia, Dole said "We're going to cut out the Department of Education." And the GOP Presidential platform reads:

"Our formula is as simple as it is sweeping: the federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the work place. That is why we will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning. We therefore call for prompt repeal of the Goals 2000 program and the School-To-Work Act of 1994, which put new federal controls, as well as unfunded mandates, on the States. We further urge that federal attempts to impose outcome- or performance-based education on local schools be ended."

And, what did we tell you about Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain back in January?

The Bob Dole For The New Millennium

Now, maybe Mommy Moose will come up with another whopper, like, lets put the Department of Education on eBay, or she'll go back to that school and have the students pray for a better Department of Education.

Or, the Rove Rats go to the old stand-by - another POW-POW- POW story...

You know, something like "John McCain knows all about schools ... He got a great education in a special school, for five-years, where they would beat you for the correct answers ..."


Bonus Schoolhouse Links

AP - Obama: "John McCain Doesn't Understand" Education

Steve Benen: OBAMA EYES DEBATE OVER EDUCATION....

Bob Cesca: Prepare To Yack Up Your Dinner

(H/T Bob - Here's The McCain-Rove Rats Response)