I object, again and again and again
Once upon a time, the State of the Union address was a single speech, or maybe a big speech followed by a little one. Going back many years, the president has claimed the big stage and the opposition party has been allowed a little time for rebuttal afterward.
But now things may be getting out of hand. Not only was there a rebuttal by GOP Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels after President Barack Obama’s third such address Tuesday, but Republican candidate Mitt Romney took the opportunity to give his own "pre-buttal" beforehand.
And not only is there a Republican response, but the Tea Party started tapping its own standard bearer last year, with a message from its caucus chief in the U.S. House, ex-presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann. This year another former contender, Herman Cain, spoke for the Tea Party Express. Even Occupy Wall Street folks convened for their own shout-out.
Is this the new normal for an election year? It would appear so.
An apology, and a way forward
When it comes to our public schools, there’s no shortage of opinions about how to improve them. And when something goes wrong — like the overwhelming rejection of the latest teachers’ contract last week — there’s plenty of finger-pointing and howls of protest.
So it was refreshing to hear Wil Okabe, the president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, do something different on Monday. He blamed himself.
"I am humbled," he said after teachers rejected the contract he recommended. "This wasn’t the teachers’ fault. It was mine."
The walls of mistrust and contempt that separate the education establishment, the political establishment and the public seem insurmountable. Perhaps Okabe has shown how they can be breached.