Obama decides to share platform tomorrow with right-wing anti-teachers union Republican Jeb Bush!

Better Believe It

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Thu Mar-03-11 04:56 PM
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Obama decides to share platform tomorrow with right-wing anti-teachers union Republican Jeb Bush!

Edited on Thu Mar-03-11 05:18 PM by Better Believe It

This ought to go over real big with Wisconsin teachers who are fighting against their union busting, anti-worker Republican governor. A real slap in the face to over two million organized teachers in America. That's what I think. BBI

Obama, Jeb Bush to visit Miami high school
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO and BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press
March 1, 2011

When President Barack Obama and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush stand side by side at a Miami high school, it will be an opportunity for the Democrat to show a bipartisan approach to education reform while allowing the Republican to push his own nationwide message on the issue.

Obama and Bush have common ground on education. Both support increasing the number of charter schools, tying teacher evaluations to student performance on standardized tests and setting high standards and accountability. They also believe education is key to invigorating U.S. competitiveness.

Obama has sought to show a broader sense of outreach to the GOP after his own party took a beating in the midterm elections, as well as a willingness to work across party lines.

"The president working with Gov. Bush, working with leaders across the aisle, is hugely important for leading the country to where we need to go," Duncan said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday, citing a range of figures that show United States students trailing behind students in other countries. "We need to put politics and ideology to the side."

Read the full article at:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/01/2092576/obama-jeb-bush-to-visit-miami.html#

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Obama to speak at Miami Central High School
by David Volz
Miami Labor Relations Examiner
March 2, 2011

President Barack Obama will speak at Miami Central High School on March 4.

John Ristow, spokesperson for Broward Teachers Union President Pat Santeramo said it is unfortunate that this presentation will not involve issues that are important to Miami area teachers. These include the likely passage of Senate Bill 736 and House Bill 7019. This proposed legislation will tie half of teacher's salaries to the performance of their students on standardized tests, prevent the consideration of advanced degrees for teacher salaries, eliminate tenure for teachers hired after the summer of 2014 and create redesigned standardized tests.

http://www.examiner.com/labor-relations-in-miami/obama-to-speak-at-miami-central-high-school

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Obama, Jeb Bush to promote education reform at Miami school
By Lesley Clark
McClatchy Newspapers
March 2, 2011

Bush said in a statement through a spokeswoman that he was “honored to welcome” Obama and Duncan to Florida, calling the state a “national model for education reform.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney praised Bush, saying he “was committed and remains committed to bipartisan education reform. The president is as well.”

Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education last December invited Duncan as a keynote speaker to a luncheon. Bush at the time noted that Duncan was “advancing education reform across the nation.

Duncan led the crowd in a round of applause for Bush: “These conversations are so important and your moral leadership is important,” he said to Bush.

Read the full article at:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/02/2093174/obama-jeb-bush-to-promote-education.html#

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Jeb Bush to appear with Obama at Miami school
The bipartisan event Friday is meant to focus on President Obama's goal of raising U.S. education performance. Jeb Bush has been urged to run for president in 2012.
By Michael A. Memoli, Washington Bureau
March 2, 2011

Jeb Bush will join President Obama in Florida on Friday for an event focused on education, the rare issue for which the president has earned plaudits from Republicans.

The White House announced details of the event Tuesday, saying it would focus on the president's goal that the United States should do a better job than its global competitors in educating its citizens to "win the future."

Bush was at the White House just last week to see his father, former President George H.W. Bush, receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Bush would travel with Obama during the Florida trip.

The White House hopes the joint appearance will bolster efforts to present Obama as a more centrist figure as they appeal to independent voters key to his reelection.

Read the full article at:

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-jeb-obama-20110302,0,1959117.story

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Obama to appear with Jeb Bush at Miami education event
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
March 2, 2011

The joint appearance is mainly one of political convenience. Obama, whose staff invited Bush, is constantly looking to suggest his ideas are bipartisan. And Bush is no moderate Republican, but a favorite of the party's base who likely would be considering a presidential run in 2012 if he had a different last name.

For the ex-Florida governor, who left office in 2006, the appearance with Obama gives him another opportunity to establish himself as a national leader on policy issues, particularly on education. Aware that he cannot run for president anytime soon, Bush has instead created an education nonprofit and become more broadly an idea generator for the GOP, advising congressional leaders such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and potential 2012 candidates.

"Because of high expectations for students, hard-edge policies that focus schools on learning and an array of choices for families, the Sunshine State is leading the nation in rising student achievement," Bush said in a statement about the event, as reported by the Miami Herald. "I look forward to sharing Florida's model for student success with President Obama and Secretary Duncan."

Read the full article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/02/AR2011030202395.html

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Obama's mistimed Miami school visit -- with Jeb Bush
By Valerie Strauss
March 2, 2011

At a time when Wisconsin teachers are protesting to keep their collective bargaining rights, President Obama is traveling to Florida to share a stage with former governor Jeb Bush, the king of corporate-driven, standardized test-obsessed school reform that devalues teachers and their unions.

What a tag team.

Florida is increasingly being looked to as a national model of education reform, and we have Jeb Bush to thank for that. The state began to overhaul its public education system after Jeb Bush became governor in 1999, and it has been a leader in reforms centered around standardized tests, the expansion of charter schools, virtual education and merit pay. He long tried to reduce the power of teachers unions -- being very vocal about his aims -- and last year campaigned for legislation that would eliminate teacher tenure.

So, at this point in time, when teachers in Wisconsin and elsewhere feel besieged, I’m wondering why Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are flying to Florida to be with Republicans who have been part of the attack force. Why, when teachers are fighting for union rights, does the president decide to spend time with anti-teachers union school reformers?

Read the full article at:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/school-turnaroundsreform/obamas-questionable-trip-to-mi.html

President Obama greets former Governor Jeb Bush at the 2010 Medal of Freedom ceremony on Feb. 15 at the White House.