The main media "narrative" of today's ed-sec pick is that Arne Duncan was the "compromise" candidate that both reformers and the teachers union camp within the Democratic Party could abide. Fair enough. Everyone sees something in Arne Duncan that they can claim as their own.
But as I mentioned earlier, "compromise" isn't quite the right concept , and it's not likely to be President-Elect Obama's strategy over the next four years. Compromise implies give and take, everyone getting less than what they wanted. What we'll see instead, I suspect, is a strategy of addition, not subtraction. The unions and their allies will get programs they like. And the reformers will get programs they like. And Obama will try like the dickens to avoid the contentious issues that truly divide them.
Consider today's press conference (here's the transcript ). The President-Elect surely pleased reformers with his mention of charter schools and his enthusiasm for closing down failing schools. But he also please the teachers unions with his call to hold "governments" accountable and his praise for Chicago's work boosting the number of Nationally Board-Certified teachers.
What he didn't do was mention the No Child Left Behind act, or the controversies around that law that divide the Democratic Party (and, yes, the Republican Party) in two.
Those debates will come, eventually. In the meantime, expect more pleasing platitudes for the multitudes, and prepare to open your pocketbook, because Team Obama looks ready to spend money on all manner of education issues, traditional and reform-minded alike.
