How liberal are the Edwardses?

[AP]

You all know who Clark Kerr is? He was the chacellor of the UC system back in the day. He was a man who was totally committed to the idea that the way to create a thriving society -- a thriving democracy -- was to make sure power flowed down to all the people, rather than up to a very small group of people way at the top of the wealth ladder. Kerr knew what all know: if you have nothing to trade on in your life but your labor, getting an education is the best way to make your labor as valuable as possible, and when your labor is as valuable as possible, you can bargain with big corporations and other employers, and with consumers to pay you what your worth for what you know and what you know how to do. Education is the surest route to being a powerful economic actor in control of your destiny.

So Clark C. Kerr built the U of C system on this principle: education wasn't for the elite. It was for the people. In California, for years, you could go to a community college for two years, do well, and transfer to Berkeley, or UCLA or one of the other fantastic schools. (Arnold just defunded this program.) This was Clark Kerr's vision of America.

Clark C. Kerr was fired by Reagan because he did his job too well. (Only in America, eh?)

Today, Elizabeth Edwards, was introduced by the Chancellor of UC-Berekely. In her response to the introduction she said that it was nice to be at Berkeley on the day that that the school was memorializing Clark Kerr, who died a couple months ago. She said that what he did at Berkeley during the Free Speech Movement days resonated all the way to ("even") UNC (which got a laugh). She said that he meant a great deal to her and people who shared her opinions about politics.

[AP]

1. Clark Kerr made pulbic education a part of the fabric of American society.

He's a hero not just to Elizabeth Edwards.