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Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.
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President Bush's Inner-City Wish
April 04, 2008 2:31 PM
In this week when we learned that 17 of the nation's 50 largest cities have high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, who says the president doesn't have the needs of inner-city America on his mind?
ABC News' Brian Hartman points out that during the Washington Nationals' home opener on March 30, the president spent some time in the broadcast booth where he said, "one of my real wishes is that baseball will get back into inner city America. Such fabulous opportunities for some of these kids, you know. Contracts are better in baseball if you can make the team. You play longer. And the skills -- you know, a lot of our inner city kids have got the skills necessary to play. They just need exposure and, and for the sport to be accepted better."
Former Houston Astro Joe Morgan, for whom this has been an issue for a few years, noted that "exposure is the key there you know in the inner city… One of the things that has happened is that basketball, they hold clinics in the inner city, they do a lots of things in the inner city to get the kids interested in their sport. We need to do more of that. As you're saying to bring more awareness in the inner city. So the kids will be a little more excited about playing the game."
- jpt
April 4, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7)
1770-1791: Let them eat cake.
2000-2008: Let them play baseball.
Posted by: Chris R | Apr 4, 2008 7:18:52 PM
Guys,
You just don't get it. Nothing the government can do that can enable someone to get better grades. The fact is there are people graduating in these schools so it means it can be done. It takes individuals with stong minds and strong determination to motivate themselves to do well and graduate.
The President is just looking for ways to get the young people off of the streets and doning something constructive, which they can benefit from if they were to turn pro.
Posted by: Tyrone | Apr 4, 2008 4:01:00 PM
I am sure the President is sincere; however we all know the problem runs much deeper and cannot be fixed by sports.
The bi-partisan no child left behind may or may not be a benefit to education in the US. What were the dropout rates before the program? At least something different is being tried. Is it not time for a report card on the program?
I don’t think that a bitter congressional fight over education and throwing money at the problem is the answer either. Is not the DC school system the best funded per student and one of the highest in dropout rate?
Perhaps Chicago has the answer. They recently fired the staff of some under performing schools and are starting over.
Under performing school boards should be fired also "a fish rots from the head". While we are at it let’s close up state and federal education departments and start them over also. Perhaps then some accountability for success and failure can be built into the system.
The candidate that can get their arms around education will be the true change candidate and do more for the betterment of our country and people than any other program.
Posted by: Bubba | Apr 4, 2008 3:51:55 PM
How are those kids in South side Chicago doing?
Posted by: geevill | Apr 4, 2008 3:34:18 PM
Let me get this straight, build ball parks in the inner-city areas and this will left up how many kids....one in a million who might make a team. Sorry Mr. Bush missed again by just a little ,to hit the nail on the head.
I guess if the kids can't make it in school they should play baseball all day, why didn't we think of this earlier, we could have saved millions in tax dollars during Bushs term in office.
What about the girls, what do you do to get them out of the proverty, and the STD and baby making mode....perhaps they could learn to be movie stars we can ask movie studios to build in the inner cities and use the blacks as extras and they can learn to be stars, just like thier male counterparts learn to be baseball stars, yes that's the ticket lets do this right now!!!!!!!
Really caring would help and really committing to education backed by real money and paid for by taxes would really help.Try NOT saying we need tax cuts and asking schools to do this job with no money behind the mandates would sure help also.not a real right wing thing to say or do, but it is what has to happen.birth controll taught in school is also not such a bad idea, and telling kids what STD can do to them in say the 5th grade might help a little.OH I am sorry I forgot the Christian right won't let America do anything but house the poor in America, and then complain endlessly about how they abuse the taxpayers in thanks. And anyway teaching about sex would lead to sex, and we all know no poor people have sex, neither do teenagers...right??????????
Posted by: Bonnie J Kimberly | Apr 4, 2008 3:27:37 PM
So, baseball is the answer, not better schools and more teachers. Typical.
Posted by: DJShay | Apr 4, 2008 3:20:22 PM
THe drop out statistics of inner city schools reveal the No Child Left Behind, has unfortunately, left behind many.
Posted by: katrina | Apr 4, 2008 2:36:41 PM
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