Morning Joe Asks Arne Duncan: Was ‘White Suburban Moms’ Remark Part of ‘Divide and Conquer’ Strategy?
“My wording was clumsy,” Duncan said. “My message was very, very simple. When you raise standards that’s a challenging thing…What’s happened historically is far too many states have dummied downed standards. We were lying to families and children…Many states around this country doing very hard work of raising standards, now, it’s the right thing, but we have to better communicate that to parents. That was the message.”
“Isn’t there a feeling that the Obama administration likes to divide and conquer?” host Joe Scarborough asked. “That’s what a lot of conservative people say this was a part of.”
“I accept the misspeak,” former Bush communications director Nicolle Wallace said. “I do it every time I’m on live television. I think there’s a sense among Republicans—and I know that your mission unites people across the aisle, so it’s ironic you ended up in this position—but there’s a sense among Republicans that this viewing the country and viewing the Obama administration policies through this lens of highly sliced and diced, by race and income.”
“This is the exact of opposite of that,” Duncan said. “My point was that when you dummy down standards, that affects all children.”
“Even white suburban families, was the your point?” Wallace asked.
“Even in more affluent areas, not just the inner city,” Duncan said. “Every child needs high standards. That was my very simple point.”
Morning Joe regular Harold Ford defended the substance, though not the phrasing, of Duncan’s point.
“He’s spot on when you find people who believe their kids are learning, who live in comfortable havens in this country, who believe their schools are fine, but when you actually apply their kids and put their kids up against kids around the globe, they not only lose but the country loses,” Ford said. “I think that’s the point he was making.”
Watch the clip below, via MSNBC:
[Image via screengrab]
