McCain's Closed-Door Meeting With NYC Schools Chief
Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona met this weekend with Joel Klein, the chancellor of the New York City school system, a Broad Prize winner, and a former Clinton administration official. The two discussed "education reform."
I wish I could give you more details than that ... but there aren't any available. McCain and Klein held "a closed-door meeting," according to this New York Post story. Apparently they discussed "education reform." Thanks for the specifics on that one, senator!
I'd say this was a missed opportunity for McCain to get a photo, if nothing else, of himself talking to someone who actually has something to do with education, an issue the candidate had pretty much ignored until his speech to the NAACP last week.
McCain could have used the meeting to reiterate the message that he cares about schools, an issue on which Democrats typically have an edge, even as his rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, is visiting Iraq to bolster his foriegn policy credentials, generally viewed as McCain's strong point.
And he could have had pictures of himself (shaking hands, if nothing else) with Klein, helping to bolster his image as someone who's not afraid to reach across the aisle - and into traditional Democratic strongholds like NYC - for good policy ideas.
