On Their Childrens' Schools, Politicians Should Save the Outrage

Matt Bai:

If you're a politician who has all kinds of things to say about public education, do voters have the right to know where you send your children to school?

That's a question that seems to be surfacing a lot lately. A few weeks ago, on NBC's "Meet the Press," Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, as vicious a critic of teachers unions as exists among American politicians today, repeated his assertion that where he chooses as a parent to educate his four children (Catholic schools, as it turns out) is nobody's business.

This week, Rahm Emanuel, the newly installed mayor of Chicago, stormed out of an interview when asked the same question, which he apparently considered a violation of his privacy. Mr. Emanuel, who has also called for school reforms, is sending his children to the same private school the Obama girls once attended.

"My children are not in a public position," Mr. Emanuel testily told the local NBC reporter who asked the question. "The mayor is."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 24, 2011 1:22 AM
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