Much Ado About Obama Sending Girls To Private School

I have received a number of emails and seen a lot written about Obama’s decision not to send his girls to DC public schools.  People are saying he has thrown the urban public school system under the bus and betrayed the inner-city kids whose parents can’t afford to pay $30K/year in tuition for a private school.

I can understand why people would want Obama’s daughters in their schools or school system, but I think that any critique of Obama or implication he is a hypocrite or sell-out are grossly unfair.

If Obama had said public schools were fine or that they didn’t need more resources and then sent his kids to private school, that would be one thing.  But he’s working to improve public schools precisely because they aren’t a place he would send his own children and doesn’t think other parents should be forced to do so.

It seems to me that health care provides a perfect analogy to this public school question.  Should we condemn a politician who champions universal health care or the need to improve SCHIP unless he refuses to accept health care benefits for his own family?

And for those of us who champion family and good parenting, I don’t think we should be asking parents to sacrifice their children to make political points.  I have no doubt that, being a fallen creature, Obama will do plenty of things during the next 8 years to rightly justify critique.  But fighting for improved schooling for all children in this country while at the same time providing the best he can for his daughters is not one of them.