Happy New Year, edelectioners. On this day of the Iowa caucuses, Bloomberg News treats us to a story about Bill Gates' contribution to the presidential campaigns. He's not a backer of a candidate, but a cause -- education. He's poured $30 million into the Ed08 campaign so far, according to Bloomberg News (not to be confused with the potential third-party candidate).
The article also notes that "among New Hampshire residents planning to vote in the Democratic primary on Jan. 8, education tied with the economy for second among domestic issues, according to the ABC News/Washington Post poll."
So why isn't education a higher priority on the campaign trail?
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The Associated Press reported this in April
^Foundations spending $60 million to make education a presidential campaign issue<
^By JIM KUHNHENN=
^Associated Press Writer=
¶ WASHINGTON (AP) _ Two of the world's wealthiest charitable foundations are bankrolling a $60 million initiative aimed at making education an issue in the 2008 presidential campaign.
¶ Philanthropists Bill Gates and Eli Broad are hoping their "Strong American Schools" project will goad the presidential candidates into taking bold stands on education even if it means angering their own constituencies.
¶ "We feel strongly that we had to wage a campaign to do two things: Arouse the American people and get them concerned and get them to see the need for reform in public education," Broad said in an interview Tuesday.
¶ The campaign, he said, will "try to get all the candidates to be interested in education, not let them get by with the pablum of 'We need better schools and better teachers.'"
...
from Donna Blankinship: I write about education and the Gates Foundation for The AP, but did not write this story.
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