RSSChange We Can Believe In: Barack & Michelle Obama Choose Ritzy Private Sidwell Friends for Daughters Sasha and Malia
Send my children to public school … are you kidding!
More change you can believe in from the Obama’s. File this one under the category of 
do as I say, not as I do. Barack & Michelle Obama are sending their daughters Sasha and Malia to Sidwell Friends private school. As Hot Air stated, Michelle Obama believes in a public school education, just not for her children. For a candidate that talked such a good game about change, at every chance and every turn Obama has dome nothing more than any other previous politician. Take a look at the educational changes and reforms that Barack Obama backed during the Presidential campaign. Interestingly enough he will make education a priority for his Administration; however, he will not send his children to it.
The choice of Sidwell Friends for Obama’s daughters actually plays perfectly into the many choices he has made for his Presidential Cabinet as well. Obama has done his best imitation of the Clinton White House so far and as fate would have it the Clinton’s chose the same DC private school for Chelsea. Remarkable.
Sidwell Friends School in northwest Washington,Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia visited their top choices for schools ‘to make sure we find the right fit.’
Of course the Teachers’ Union President says its okay for Barack and Michelle Obama to send their kinds to a private school. What else would we expect? After all is Barack Obama, The One, the Obamamessiah we are talking about. No one is allowed to criticize his choices, especially when he pandered to the public school teachers union vote this past election.
The AFT endorsed Obama for president in July. On the campaign trail, Obama spoke out against school choice and vouchers for children in households of any income level. Still, when asked if the Obamas should send their children to public school, Weingarden said “none of us” can relate to being in the position of president of the United States.
“Look, none of us knows what it’s like to be a president of the United States of America or a president-elect,” she said. “I think Senator Obama and his wife have every right to make a decision that works for their family and their kids, and none of us should criticize it.”
Are Barack and Michelle Obama allowed to send their children to the school of their choice? Of course they are. The Obama’s being of privileged means can afford to send their children to a privileged school that has a tuition rate close to $30,000 per year. However, Obama was the same candidate who was adamantly against school vouchers that would have allowed “We the People” the choice of school to send your children. Hell, Obama does not even support school vouchers in the Washington, DC area.
During the just-concluded campaign, Mr. Obama spoke dismissively of the federally funded voucher program that gives poor D.C. families access to the kind of educational opportunities his family is fortunate to have. The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program gives low-income families up to $7,500 per child for their children to escape failed public schools and attend private schools. Some 1,900 children receive vouchers, and many more are clamoring to join the program. Democrats, and their allies in public school teachers unions, oppose the vouchers and, with the party soon to control Congress and the White House, supporters of the program are right to worry.
UPDATE I: Choice for Me, But Not for Rhee (The Corner)
During the third presidential debate, Barack Obama and John McCain staged a little contest over who could say the nicest things about DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee. It was an encouraging discussion because Rhee is a reform-minded Democrat who isn’t afraid to take on teacher unions. She’s also a supporter of DC’s limited school-choice program, which lets about 2,000 low-income kids attend private (mostly Catholic) schools with vouchers. As she said about a year ago: “I would never, as long as I am in this role, do anything to limit another parent’s ability to make a choice for their child. Ever.”
Now we learn that Rhee’s schools aren’t good enough for Obama’s children: The president-elect has chosen to enroll his girls at Sidwell Friends. This is nothing new. The elite opponents of school choice routinely keep their children out of public schools:
UPDATE II: Moving on Up! Obama Girls to Attend Elite Private D.C. School
UPDATE III: Even The Washington Post Snears At Barry School Choice
Posted November 21, 2008 by Scared Monkeys Barack Obama, Child Welfare, Education, Main, WTF | 42 comments |
If you liked this post, you may also like these:
Comments
42 Responses to “Change We Can Believe In: Barack & Michelle Obama Choose Ritzy Private Sidwell Friends for Daughters Sasha and Malia”
Leave a Reply
did you expect any different? I knew immediately that the Obamas would send their kids to private school. The checking out schools was just a ruse. After all, none of the DC public schools serve arugula.
Who cares?????????
what do you expect?man you must really have it in for him-he is the president of the united states!his daughters deserve the best education–lets go to make believe world–if a right wing nut like yourself was president…would you send your daughter a washington dc public school?NO—-stick to gossiping about casey and natalee.
if that’s the best school they found for their kids.
then of course they send them to that school.
who wouldn’t do that?
(another ‘WTF’ tagged blog entry, the amount of WTF entries shows how out of touch with reality and common sense the writers of these entries are)
I would have done the same thing for not only my children’s safety but those that are responsible for my children’s safety that being the Secret Service Agents for gosh sakes, doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t fully support the importance of the futherance of public school importance to our country & it’s future.
If those shoes were on your feet Red, what would you do? Am truly interested in knowing. If that would be to place your children in the safest environment would you abandon your good intentions & hard work toward the public schools of America? Just wondering.
This is an outrage. People are really petty when it comes to reality. How dare you even make mention of The new President Elect’s children schooling. Do you have any compassion for who they are and what lives they now have to live. Do you think of the children in public school and how their schooling will be interrupted by the presence of the first family. Not to mention all of the disturbed people that are out to cause harm to people in power. This just goes to show that people are never satisfied with what others do no matter how positive it is. No president’s has ever sent their children to public school.
Obama a hypocrite? Say it isn’t so!! Let’s face it when the Left wants sacrifice, it is never to be them doing the sacrifice. Not their children, only your children in this case. Don’t worry Victor, by the time Obama is finished with the US Public School System, they all will be of the same quality as the DC schools. Then all will be equal with all equally uneducated..JS
guess Denise and Victor miss the contradiction. No one else’s kid (like the poor and middle class that Obama cares so much about) should have the right to choose a school for their children, but he (who is in charge of education policies) should be able to do as he wishes.
Michelle and Barack care so much about improving education in public schools that they send their daughters to private schools.
Big deal! Typical republicans! Theyu dont complain about the stupidest president who induced genocide in Itraq and wasting 10 billion a month in Iraq, but make a big deal about Obama sending hios girls to private school! It is okay to lie and waste 10 billion dollars/ month if you are a republican, but a democrat can’t send your kids to better schools just because he pledged change!
Talking of hypocrites, republicans support plife when it comes to abortions but are okay with inducing genocides in the form unncessary wars!
Only this blogs and bloggers would use innocent children for a radical right wing agenda.
There are so many issues that went into choosing a school, their personal safety, the safety of the other students, the intrusion of secret service and so on.
How many presidents sent their children to public schools? Just Amy Carter and she was pulled from public school and sent to private. Obviously their safety was a huge consideration as well and probably the prime concern. Bush’s daughters went to private school and Bush did nothing to improve education in eight years since the state of our education system is at an all time low and we rank way below many other countries.
What a sad and pathetic bunch that would take the safety of young innocent children and use it like this.
Can only be out of desperation.
JJ … suck eggs.
I guess the genocide that was taking place in Iraq was ok?
To the reality and moonbat challenged …
The fact that the Obama’s placed their children in a $28,000 a year a piece tuition school is not the issue. Barack & Michelle are allowed to put their children in any school that they deem appropriate and the best for their kids.
The outrage is that Obama is against school vouchers that would go directly against his pandering to the Public School Teachers Unions.
Obama and the Dems constantly talk class warfare and two Americas. Funny, its not really a black & white issue … its a socio-economic one.
I would dare say that many if not all the people (black, white and purple) would like to send their children to a school of their choice thru a voucher system and not be forced to send their kids to a mandatory public school.
If Obama is all about voice when it comes to a woman’s right to choose with an abortion then why isn’t he about school voucher and parents right to choose when it comes to educating a child?
Hmm?
R
#4 … BTW you can suck eggs and go elsewhere as well. No one forces you to be here.
You know you do because its educational and you may actually learn a thing or two.
I came here just to piss you off! This is the last place on earth to come for any kind of advice or education. This is filled by narrow minded xenophobic fear mongering people. If at all any one who needs education, it is people like you!
#15, Typical uneducated liberal response. Attack logic with stupidity. Fear mongering? How about keeping an eye on someone that we don’t trust? I suppose we could just drink the koolaide and bury our heads like the rest of you. That koolaide is starting to be tainted with wang, slowly, so you will get used to it. Enjoy!
More shades of “Animal Farm”: public education is good enough for the “common sheeple”, while only private schooling is allowed for the “ruling class.”
Off-topic, but did you see where the stock market gained almost 500 points yesterday? MSM headlines attribute that to the big -0-’s choice of Treasury Secretary. This of course follows the Chris Matthews doctrine of crediting all good news to -0-bummer, and all bad news to the Republicans.
I’m still amazed at how the Ginny/Freddy meltdown, fueled by the Community Reinvestment Act, requiring hundreds of billions in taxpayer bailout money, was never really hung on the Corruptocrats(D) during the election. It was all blamed on Bush/McCain, and the lemmings bought it hook, line and sinker.
I will never stop asking why Franlin Raines(D)is not in jail for 20 years or more. He’s the former Fanny CEO who was ousted after 6 years of cooking the books at Fanny to maximize his and cronies’ bonuses. This bum(D) walked away with a cool $90 million, and like “Ol’ Bomber” Bill Ayers, “he’s guilty as sin” (in this case of fraud, conspiracy, and embezzlement) and “free as a bird.”
“…when will they ever learn,
when will they ev-er learn?”
Thanks to public education and the MSM: NEVER!
i come here because its comedy gold–its almost like the onion where you must wonder “are these clowns for real?”—suck eggs?really?suck eggs?GREAT COMEBACK! Hi my name is Zeke and I gets me news from Scaredmonkeys cuz the edjumucate me.NEXT—-
I agree with Red… this wasn’t about the 2 children going to a private school.. It was about the lack of choices for not so privileged kids to go to private schools and get a better education, and the higher ups being against programs that would help the not so privileged kids attend them.
It’s got to be first a matter of safety. Public schools, let’s face it, just are not safe enough for the daughters of a man who must constantly be on death-threat alerts. If the U.S. had fewer racist zealots with guns, public schools would have been a more realistic option.
The Death of Common Sense
By Lori Borgman
——————————————————————————–
Three yards of black fabric enshroud my computer terminal. I am mourning the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense.
His obituary reads as follows:
Common Sense, aka C.S., lived a long life, but died from heart failure at the brink of the millennium. No one really knows how old he was, his birth records were long ago entangled in miles and miles of bureaucratic red tape.
Known affectionately to close friends as Horse Sense and Sound Thinking, he selflessly devoted himself to a life of service in homes, schools, hospitals and offices, helping folks get jobs done without a lot of fanfare, whooping and hollering. Rules and regulations and petty, frivolous lawsuits held no power over C.S.
A most reliable sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet. C.S. also developed sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adult is in charge, not the kid) and prudent dietary plans (offset eggs and bacon with a little fiber and orange juice).
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the Technological Revolution and the Smoking Crusades, C.S. survived sundry cultural and educational trends including disco, the men’s movement, body piercing, whole language and new math.
C.S.’s health began declining in the late 1960s when he became infected with the If-It-Feels-Good, Do-It virus. In the following decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal and state rules and regulations and an oppressive tax code. C.S. was sapped of strength and the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, criminals received better treatment than victims and judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional baseball and golf. His deterioration accelerated as schools implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of 6-year-old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing classmates, a teen suspended for taking a swig of Scope mouthwash after lunch, girls suspended for possessing Midol and an honor student expelled for having a table knife in her school lunch were more than his heart could endure.
As the end neared, doctors say C.S. drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding regulations on low-flow toilets and mandatory air bags. Finally, upon hearing about a government plan to ban inhalers from 14 million asthmatics due to a trace of a pollutant that may be harmful to the environment, C.S. breathed his last. Services will be at Whispering Pines Cemetery. C.S. was preceded in death by his wife, Discretion; one daughter, Responsibility; and one son, Reason. He is survived by two step-brothers, Half-Wit and Dim-Wit.
Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Institute for Rational Thought.
Farewell, Common Sense. May you rest in peace.
——————————————————————————–
Note from Lori Borgman: This piece was first published March 15, 1998 in the Indianapolis Star. It has been “modified” and “edited” by others and circulated on the Internet, even sent to me several times. Imagine my surprise to see it attributed to some guy named Anonymous. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I take having my work circulated on the web as a compliment.
Actually, it’s a fine choice.
Just as all the other choices that he’s made.
Besides, he’s going to be working his buns off in a job that is underfunded and underpaid.
It’s called a perk!
.
Maybe Scott should run for president…
Then his kids could go to any school he wants.
Ofcourse, he’d probably prefer
the inner-city schools of D.C.
.
Suck EGGS?
lol!
ROFL!
.
The word is bRaIn wAsH!
.
Red?
Aren’t you more concerned about the genocide
that is taking place, right here?
.
Better bake some bread!
We are in for a lot of hungry folks…
.
Sorry, don’t think that private education should be subsidized for the President of the USA or anybody else who has an income that can indeed afford to privately school their children.
You think vouchers are wonderful, that is your choice. What would be next on the agenda to change our country’s position of equality for all?, those that have children need not contribute toward education of children. Well all I can say is that is not a society that I would want to live in.
There is nothing wrong with believing in the existence of both private & public schools. LOL, have met plenty of people educated in public schools that have been far smarter than those that have come up through private schools. I just want it to remain that way.
I can agree to disagree & respect each of our rights to opinion on social & political issues.
You got to be pretty sick to use two innocent little girls as a political agenda. There no excuse for it no matter how hard y’all are trying to make them.
The safety of those two little girls was more than likely the primary reason just as with past presidents.
And even more so with this president who by virtue of his race has to be even more concerned with the nutjobs out there. And by reading some of the blatant racism spewed on this board it’s no wonder anyone would be concerned. There also had to have been consideration for the other students in public school and probably most importantly how well the Secret Service would best be able to protect the girls which obviously would be better in private school.
And so what if Obama is against school vouchers, everyone knows they don’t work anyway, they never have. There are far too many in the public schools without enough available space in private schools. Those with vouchers still couldn’t get into private schools.
What is more important is fixing our education system which is his plan.
And #18 and #15 I hear ya, coming here is like comedy central, a daily dose of comic relief, it’s hard to believe there is this much ignorance in the world. It’s pretty sad too though because it clearly shows how little we’ve progressed and how far we still have to go.
Shame on you for using these little girls.
And oh Mr Scared Monkeys, suck an egg? LMBO, it’s obvious you’re much too impressed with yourself as this is the last place any clear thinking person would come for an education, but do come here to see what the laughing stock of the world wide web is up to along with what ignorant comments the few sheeple that you have posting under their multiple nicknames here will come up with.
He didn’t say they shouldn’t go to private schools, he was merely stating if I read it right , that others not so privileged should be given that choice too..if they want…
Maggie:
It’s to the point where,
if the first line is,
‘Change you can believe in’
He’s lost us.
.
Everyone except you and Katablog,
Super Dave aka, kkk; and John Stratton…
that is.
.
The rest of the article is sour grapes.
.
Sorry…
Fresh out of Kool-Aide!
.
#25 Denise
“a daily dose of comic relief”
same for me!
everyday i check what fake outrages they have invented this time. just look for the WTF tag.
always great comedy.
some seem to take it serious.
they must be proud of their ignorance.
Hint:
Live for today!
.
With an eye on eternity…
.
Personally, I think people are more interested in cases involving children, like Natalee Holloway, Caylee Anthony and the little boy who was given a gun at the age of eight. The latter being the shatter on television stations all over the nation.
.
lol……
Saw this on tv tonight…Send Christmas cards saying ty to the troops.. They will make sure they get the cards.. Just mail cards to this address and they will do the rest. Nice idea..
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capital Heights, Md.
20791-5967
Nope, don’t want to subsidize the rich under the guise of helping the poor kids, that’s just nonsense.
You in favor of helping underprivileged children receive a better education? Change the tax laws, make it mandatory for private schools to fill 10% of their student population with underprivileged students, otherwise tax the profits, including interest & dividends & then tax donor’s on gifts given these private schools, rather than extending them tax deductions based on market value of the assets rather than cost basis.
There are ways of improving things all around that don’t include killing the public school system to become the propagators of a large servitude population with little hope to escape.
Let’s worry about OUR public schools & leave other country’s to take care for their own or address the needs of the masses not a measly few elitest. Should the USA really have subsidized the ISA in Aruba to educate the likes of vandersloots? I say no.
Just an alternate suggestion.
Oh my goodness,do you really expect that the girls would go to public school?
Do your politics get in the way of the well being of these two little girls?
Would you not give your children every opportunity to have the best education you can provide?
Get real. There is already changes, maybe you should get on board and work for the good of this wonderful country which gives us freedom of choice.
You do such a terrific job covering the issues to help us. Keep up the good work and keep us loving to rely on Scared Monkeys.
26 Maggie: You’ve got it right. Several of us have said the same thing, but the nutroots don’t want to hear what we are really saying. They want to turn it into their agenda and not hear the issues. And nothing can be said about “the one”.
#34: yes indeed, the people of America do indeed care about the education of their children and that’s why people in bad public school districts (such as DC) are clamoring for those vouchers to send their kids to private schools. Vouchers merely divert ones’ tax money from a public school to a private school of the parents’ choice.
Obama’s girls get secret service details. They would be as safe as anyone else’s kids – if not safer because to the Secret Service.
The ISSUE: is that Obama opposes vouchers. He opposes giving Americans the right to send their children to schools of the parents’ choice. He denies other peoples’ children a good education while you all defend his children’s rights.
Only rich parents can send their children to private schools because poor and middle class have to first pay for public schools which are ineffective and in some cases down right BAD places for children. Obama says he is for the poor and middle class. He’s all about change. Where is the change? His kids go to private schools like all the presidents’ children which the people of DC are stuck sending their children to absolutely horrible public schools.
Then the DC public schools have to be cleaned up & the Federal Government should assist DC just like it has assisted Manhattan & the surrounding burbs. Do you honestly believe that private schools are going to take the DC student population in?
I rather doubt it. DC is a mess & it needs to be cleaned up not allowed to continue to be a white man’s territory of power & a slum to the economically disadvantaged. Right now that is just what it is.
JJ … you do not piss anyone off.
You just show the rest how misguided and ignorant people truly are when the go hook, line and sinker for a candidate and forget what said candidate actually espouses.
However, we all appreciate that you self-described yourself as nothing more than a troll.
So troll-boy you can go away now and make yourself useful, if that is possible.
This is a perfect example of people not wanting to actually debate an important topic like public/private school and its accessibility. Instead they just want to create noise and disrupt because they know their candidate is a hypocrite.
Everyone in life serves a purpose … some are just used to be a bad example. If the shoe fits eh?
R
I am glad that some of you think that the education of today’s children is a joke for their personal consumption. I guess its a perfect example of this countries education process along with personal ignorance.
The public education is this country is a disaster. Between what is taught, the $’s that at ridiculously thrown at it and the pandering to the teachers unions is a nightmare. More money is spent per student in the most failed schools. So lets just keep propagating and funding failed schools. There’s change we can all believe in.
The idea that people are supposed to send their children and are basically forced to send their kids to failed schools is pathetic. No one is saying that suddenly they should be going to $25K a year schools.
However, forcing children to failed schools where they never receive an education is a kin to abuse.
Vouchers would begin an effort to solve that problem. The govt does not pay any extra $’s. There already is a certain amount of money in every district that determines what it costs to educate a child. Parents should be able to take that money and put their child in a school of their choice. If the tuition is more, then the parents pays the difference.
That would be change …
Change we could also believe in would be “term limits”.
Obama’s girls were already going to a private school at a cost of 20k per year/per student. So why would the parents send them to public?
As a realtor, I can tell you nine times out of ten parents with school age children, number one concern is the public school. If they don’t ask than they have bucks to spend for private or don’t care, but they are the minority. You may have a hard choice to make with commute for work, but you do have the choice to pick a place to live with a good public school if there are any left out there.
You can thank Bush for No child left behind aka the dumbing down of our future and thank the lack of interest of busy tired hardworking americans who trust their tax dollars to be paying their politicians to run good public schools. Until we join together on this and take an interest in our future it will not change. Several states have choosen to opt out of this program for very good reasons. Vouchers allow students who parents actually do care to opt out of a lame public school for a better one. Vouchers to me = back door segregation for the smart parents. NCLB = no advanced classes for average joe children w/above average intelligence. Lowers our intelligence pool for teachers paid, thereby lowers our childrens intelligence.
Maryland opted out. I have a friend who can no longer afford her sons 10k a yr tuition and placed him in public school. He’s in the 20% minority, the school’s surrounded by public housing, but due to opting out of NCLB they have excellent programs for intelligent kids who pass the tests whether average joe kids or poor kids. They have the money to have a school w/in a school for these smart kids. This IMO benefits all the children at that school, they get smarter teachers,smarter students,smarter pro-active parents. Everyone benefits. JMO
#25- Denise says: There is blatant racisim on this site? Don’t think so, Dear. Time and time again this has been addressed, but that allegation is baseless.
Then you say:
You got to be pretty sick to use two innocent little girls as a political agenda. There no excuse for it no matter how hard y’all are trying to make them.
And oh Mr Scared Monkeys, suck an egg? LMBO, it’s obvious you’re much too impressed with yourself as this is the last place any clear thinking person would come for an education, but do come here to see what the laughing stock of the world wide web is up to along with what ignorant comments the few sheeple that you have posting under their multiple nicknames here will come up with.
**************************************************
Let me tell you, Denise- I am an Indy who comes to this site for interesting articles, facts, opinions on hot topics of the day, and information on Missing & Expolited persons.
What remains curious to me, is why folks like you and JJ come on here at all if you are so against it’s content. As you stated, we have a long way to go to be on the same page—but does that also mean that we can’t agree to disagree on many topics on here? I get really PO’d when every bleeding heart liberal leftist on here constantly paints EVERY “Monkey” with the same broad strokes. We are all individuals. We are not racists, we are INDEPENDENT thinkers and we have a right to our views, as do you.
So, once and for all—if you don’t like the coffee being served in the shoppe you frequent, why in the hell do you keep coming back? Doesn’t piss us off or bother us- rather just gives us a few extra minutes to point out in a post how foolish you look.
Just bounce your unhappy little arse out of here and call it a day. There are plenty of other blogs you can go to….so….We’re thinking…you repeat offenders and whiners really DO LOVE SCARED MONKEYS!!!!!!!!!!! You just keep coming back for more.
=)
Thank you ANewGirl
I was about to post a comment along that line before I read yours.
It’s kind of comical how all these bleeding heart liberals come here to trash this site because we disagree with worshiping the chosen one. Personally, if I don’t like a certain site, I don’t go back.
All we are doing is trying to have discussions about what our president elect is doing and his so called changes but some people can’t handle the truth so they choose to bash everyone that disagrees.
It’s also comical how they can twist things around to suit their agenda no matter how many facts we provide for them, they still don’t get it.
But they are good for a few laughs. I’m just waiting for them to snap out of their hypnotic trance. lol
You all need to check yourselves. The Obama girls already attend Private School in Chicago and have been doing so all their lives. Why should they be demoted and subjected to a public school and inferior quality of education just because their dad is now the 44th President of the United States of America. I would never sent my child to a public school and have made sacrifices to ensure that he never has to. The Obama’s can afford private schools and should continue to give thier children the quality and type of life they have been enjoying and currently enjoy.
____________
SM: You have completed missed the entire point of the post altogether. See how important reading comprehension and education is.
When one claims they are the anointed one for the people and that education is their priority then they cannot act like those mean, rich, non-caring Republicans.
Obama has every right to send his kids where he wants to, that is not the point. The point is that if Obama wants to close the education gap which he is part of the abuse, then why would he not allow school vouchers?
Vouchers provide a choice for families as to where they send their child to school. Why should any parent that cares about their child’s future have to send their child to a failed school in a failed school system? There is a certain $ amount allocated for each child’s education in every school district. A voucher would allow the parents to take that voucher to a school of their choice.
This is not a black and white issue … education has become a socio-economic issue.
The privileged like the Obama’s say they are for one thing and then do just the opposite. Why is Obama not for education choice? I guess Obama is only for a woman’s right to choose, not for the right as to where to educate children.
R