Jonathan Alter with a great column entitled "Obama Shows Spunk Pushing Brave Education Plan":

Although President Barack Obama is on the ropes, with even some Democratic allies describing him as weak and passive, this week he showed boldness and imagination in one vital area: education.

Obama backed Education Secretary Arne Duncan's announcement that he will grant waivers to states that want to be excused from the punitive provisions of No Child Left Behind, Washington's much-maligned 2002 overhaul of elementary and secondary education policy.

Republican lawmakers complain that the White House waivers run roughshod over the legislative branch -- and they're right. But gridlock demands more robust use of presidential authority and, at least in this case, we're getting it. Unless Duncan's action is challenged and reversed on constitutional grounds, No Child Left Behind will be left behind for good.

Under Obama, education was supposed to be fertile ground for bipartisan compromise. That's because Obama has executed a "Nixon to China" maneuver; only a Democratic president can successfully take on the teachers unions, and the president has done so in a shrewd way that avoids teacher bashing and keeps the lines of communication with the unions (big backers of Democrats) open.

Republican lawmakers broadly endorse Obama's policies, but they're philosophically committed to less federal involvement in education and politically committed to opposing the president whenever possible. So they've dragged their feet on reauthorizing NCLB, as have Senate Democrats who can't agree on how to move a bill.

Duncan's waivers, which are good for four years, actually enhance local control while ensuring greater accountability. But it's a different kind of local control and a different vision of accountability than we've seen before.

Obama and Duncan are selling something ambitious --a new relationship between Washington and the states. The idea is to set high education standards, then let states figure out how to meet them. "We want to give them a lot more flexibility, get out of their way and let them hit that higher bar," Duncan said last week.

…Steven Brill's forthcoming book, "Class Warfare," offers a compelling account of Race to the Top, which, for all of its success, has also been marred by the failure of some states to meet their commitments to more rigorous teacher evaluation.

For years, teachers unions have wanted their members to be considered professionals without being held accountable for performance like other professionals. The Obama policy goes a long way toward changing that. Not surprisingly, Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, told me this week that she opposes Duncan's waivers because they shift too much accountability to teachers.

Duncan will need to use the power of the executive branch to enforce both the requirements of Race to the Top and whatever broad reforms he demands in exchange for state waivers. If that requires withholding federal funds from recalcitrant states -- good. If it means overriding a dilatory and dysfunctional Congress -- even better.

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Obama Shows Spunk Pushing Brave Education Plan

By Jonathan Alter Aug 11, 2011 7:59 PM ET Thu Aug 11 23:59:19 GMT 2011 8 Comments

www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-11/obama-shows-spunk-pushing-brave-education-plan-jonathan-alter.html