. . . ."Considering his backing and considering the centrality of education to what he's trying to accomplish, how responsible will you feel or would you feel if Mayor Fenty were not re-elected?"
"Very responsible," Rhee said. "When he hired me he told me this was his number one priority and that he was willing to risk his entire political career in the pursuit of trying to fix the schools. The decisions we have made...were not always things that would guarantee harmony among adults."
Rhee described a recent senior staff meeting in which an unidentified official said the administration was "losing the PR battle" over school budget cuts and teacher layoffs.
Paraphrasing Fenty's response, Rhee said: "It doesn't matter if we lose the PR battle. And, in fact, it doesn't even matter if we lose the re-election as long as we are operating with the endgame in mind. And for us, that is improving the schools. We're not going to compromise any step of the way in that. And if I'm not re-elected then we'll go down in history as the only administration that made every decision in what we believed to be the best interests of children instead of what was in the best interests of getting re-elected."
In a lighter vein, someone asked how she relaxed when she took her "game face off." Her answer: she doesn't.
"I always have the game face on. It's sort of part of my personality. I'm driven by my work....When I don't have my kids with me I want to work."
Pressed for details about her recent engagement to Sacramento mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson, she said they would discuss a wedding date this weekend and that the imposing diamond on her finger was three carats. Of Johnson's proposal, she said only:
"I have to say it was very effective."
Monday, November 16, 2009
Rhee Gets Carats While Everyone Else Gets Sticks
Will Adrian Fenty sacrifice himself in the next election to hold on the Queen of Pain, Michelle Rhee, who is arguably the divisive character to ever come to life from the corporate education planning boards of Eli Broad. The underlying question, of course, is does Fenty even have a say in the matter, when his political career is owned by the Oligarchs? Some questions for Michelle Rhee, as reported by Bill Turque:
Comment left with the Post on this story.
ReplyDelete"If I go down at the end of the day because I didn't play the political game right, that's okay with me," she said. "At least when you're making decisions that you believe are in the best interests of kids, you may not win in the end, but at least you can operate with a good conscience."
--Michelle Rhee, wallowing in self-pity.
And if I'm not re-elected then we'll go down in history as the only administration that made every decision in what we believed to be the best interests of children instead of what was in the best interests of getting re-elected.
--Adrian Fenty, feeling sorry for himself.
The similarity of Rhee and Fenty's whiny self-involved excuses for failure are striking in their substance and tone to another dangerous lightweight in the political arena these days.
By DAN JOLING, Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Sarah Palin says she's not a quitter, she's a fighter, but adds that, politically speaking, "if I die, I die. So be it."
She told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she recognizes she might not have political staying power after her surprise resignation Friday, which came just as she had been expected to elevate her national profile ahead of a possible 2012 GOP presidential run.
"I said before ... 'You know, politically speaking, if I die, I die. So be it,'" she said.
Now that's how you feel sorry for yourself and pump book sales!