Last weekend the National Education Association gave its endorsement to Barak Obama. The candidate accepted the endorsement remotely through a live hook-up. From what I have seen of his comments- I watched the video- he was well received by the 10,000 plus delegates. As an NEA member, albeit retired member, and activist I have attended many NEA Representative Assemblies as they are called. The press only covers conflict. In this case both the press and the blogosphere seemed to focus much attention on the fact that Obama received “only” 80% of the vote - I’d call it a pretty good day. And secondly, they focused on Obama’s comments on teacher compensation which evoked a bit of booing.

Admittedly, he has touched what is for many teachers a third rail issue. I think he had heavy rubber gloves on as he reached for the rail, however, and for me at least that is a significant point. Many in the media, print and electronic, particularly those whose predilection is to see teachers’ unions in a less than favorable light, see this as a wedge issue.

John McCain, who until recently has indicated that he will not release his education plan until the fall has apparently changed his mind. McCain’s education advisor, Lisa Keegan, former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction and a strong proponent of vouchers and all the other accoutrements of the market forces crowd, announced to the Associated Press on Tuesday that the Senator has “decided his appearance before the civil rights group [NAACP Convention on July 16th] was the right opportunity to talk about education.” Keegan said that McCain would spend more money on merit pay. Since both candidates support changes to teacher compensation they will need to describe how they differ and I believe they do differ. Clearly they differ on resources. Obama would boost the federal contribution by $21 billion, McCain would simply reallocate the current pot of money.

Another dimension of the lines being drawn is between two recently released proposals - the Education Equality Project (Al Sharpton and Chancellor Joel Klein), and the proposal called “A Broader Bolder Approach to Education” which is supported by Julian Bond, former NAACP leader, and a host of others. The ideological ambiguity engendered in all this, particularly the fracture in the civil rights community over NCLB, will certainly be a minefield for Barak Obama. The latest flap with Jesse Jackson’s criticism of Obama thinking the microphone was off is really another dimension to the same potential schism. Can Obama distinguish himself from his opponent by presenting a bold new approach to resolving the complex problems of America’s great inner cities? The other possibility is that all these issues could result in a “circular firing squad” as we approach perhaps the greatest opportunity in a decade for a positive dialogue on public education and the plight of our most vulnerable children in the United States.

Stay tuned.