Bush eats BBQ; tells Stamey’s to send him the bill.
Bush’s interest in the country’s youngest citizens came during a base-building trip to North Carolina, a state he won easily in both his presidential races. But even in the conservative South, many voters have grown unhappy with the president’s leadership as violence reigns in Iraq.
Bush didn’t mention those troubles in his public remarks, but turned on the charm during a visit to a barbecue restaurant and classes at Waldo C. Falkener Elementary School. He greeted lunchtime dinners at Stamey’s, chatting into a cell phone that one man thrust into his hand. Then he ate a classic North Carolina lunch of barbecue pork and chicken.
The N&R discussed NCLB’s critics this morning. But check out this paragraph fron the AP story:
Bush’s signature education bill, No Child Left Behind, is up for reauthorization next year. Congrssional Democrats helped hand him a bipartisan victory with that law five years ago. But the politics have changed and a Democratic majority on Capitol Hill could make it tougher for Bush to get the law approved without increased funding and other work.
More funding it will be, then. Still, the suggestion is there that Democrats could let NCLB die. That would be a very interesting scenario.
