What Happened To The Education Campaign Pledge?

One speech does does not a policy make, but some people are wondering about President Obama's commitment to arts education after hearing his speech on education last week.

Delivered in Madison, Wisc., on Nov. 4, the president's speech to Wright Middle School discussed his plans for overhauling the educational system on a national level. As one reader of Real Clear Arts pointed out to me, it contained not a single word about art or creativity.

Read it for yourself; here's the link, from Madison.com. A key passage:

It means improving instruction in science, technology, reading, math, and ensuring that more women and people of color are doing well in those subjects. 

The Presidential lapse was all the more ironic because that very evening, Mr. Obama sat through the classical music concert at the White House, joking about his lack of knowledge about when to applaud. "If you didn't know in advance who delivered it, you might have thought it came from a different administration," the reader wrote of the speech.

So, is President Obama soft-pedaling his campaign commitment to arts education? Just asking.