Addressing children's health to a group of doctors and nurses at the Ohio State Medical Center in Columbus on Saturday (2/23/08), Sen. Barack Obama made the following statement:
My home state of Illinois - I think, I'm pretty sure about this - is the only state in the country now that still requires phys ed [physical education] for local school districts. Most of the schools have abandoned it because they're under-funded, they're worried about testing.
First: According to the National Association for Sport & Physical Education (pdf file), Obama is wrong. The majority of states in the country require physical education at schools. (36 states require it at the elementary level; 33 in junior high; 42 at the high school level.)
In addition (according to NASPE again), Illinois is not even one of the 15 states that require student assessment in physical education.
Second: Obama claims that schools are "under-funded." They may be in the eyes of Obama, but as these Department of Education charts from a few years back show, federal funding for education has increased dramatically under President Bush. (As of 2004, the Department of Education budget had already grown 58% under Bush (source).)
Big deal? No. But so far, I've yet to see any news outlet cite Obama on his little gaffe.
+_+_+_+_+
By the way ... Has everyone read about this exchange between Sen. Obama and Tim Russert on Meet the Press back on Jan. 22, 2006? (Via Tony Blankley, via Patterico:)
RUSSERT: ... When we talked back in November of ‘04 after your election, I said, “There’s been enormous speculation about your political future. Will you serve your six-year term as United States senator from Illinois?” Obama: “Absolutely.”
OBAMA: I will serve out my full six-year term. You know, Tim, if you get asked enough, sooner or later you get weary and you start looking for new ways of saying things. But my thinking has not changed.
RUSSERT: So you will not run for president or vice president in 2008?
OBAMA: I will not.
Now there's some change we can believe in!
—Dave Pierre is the creator of TheMediaReport.com and a contributor to NewsBusters.
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I'm all for requiring phys
February 25, 2008 - 09:38 ET by wiwfI'm all for requiring phys ed in schools, though.
The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Illustrating Idiocy
A couple of points...
February 25, 2008 - 09:53 ET by c5thenNowhere in the Constitution does it give the Federal Government any authority in education. PERIOD. Therefore education is something SPECIFICALLY left to the States (or the People if the States don't have anything about it in thier Constitutions).
Obama's statement is not just a little wrong, or even factually innacurate. It is almost the EXACT OPPOSITE of reality. the MSM can't call him on this?
Their mantra will definitely change if he gets elected.
Lefties now: Bush lied people died
Lefties if Obama wins: Obama lied, we don't care.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
I guess the chances of the
February 25, 2008 - 10:47 ET by motherbeltI guess the chances of the MSM doing any fact-checking on this and reporting his lie (I'm not going to call it a mis-statement) are about the same as the chance of their reporting that according to him, there are just scads of CEO's earning $180 milliion a year (previous blog post here by Tom Blumer provided stats showing only 3 earning that much or more).
Does everyone just swallow every one of this guy's lines, with hook and sinker?
P.E.
February 25, 2008 - 11:01 ET by iveseenitallIt doesn't matter. Like so many other "courses" in our public schools, P.E. is a joke. Most of the "teachers" simply throw out a ball and stand against the wall sipping their morning coffee. Oh, they do have to take attendance, but they leave that to an aide. They also pull another little trick. They put their "classes" together in the gym and one them takes the day off without being charged for it. Nice.Then they pick up the same check as a classroom teacher. All part of the babysitting service we call public "education" these days. Communism at its best (worst).
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
ives - that may be now
February 25, 2008 - 12:33 ET by FastEdback when there wasn't any dirt, my PE teacher would look at the chubbos, yell at everyone to do push-ups, called them, because of their size, "Meat City" - and it was an inside joke to those who didn't know - we had a "Meat City", discount butcher shop, down the street - wonder if his non-pc attitude would get him in trouble?
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V