Valerie Strauss

Press Virtually Mum As Arne Duncan Blames Common Core Opposition on 'White Suburban Moms' Upset Their Kids 'Aren't Brilliant'
By Tom Blumer | November 17, 2013 | 4:56 PM EST

Will yet another example of rhetorical intemperance by an Obama administration official get a free pass? So far it mostly has.

A Washington Post item by Valerie Strauss at its "Answer Sheet" blog quotes a dispatch from Libbly Nelson at the Politico, but does not link to it. I couldn't find a related original story by Nelson at her Politico archive or in a Politico search on Education Secretary Arne Duncan's name (not in quotes). Here is what the Post says Nelson wrote (HT The Blaze; bolds are mine):

WashPost's Strauss, Who Sends Her Kids to Private Schools, Rails Against Romney's Support for Vouchers
By Ken Shepherd | May 30, 2012 | 11:11 AM EDT

The Washington Post's Valerie Strauss -- who sends her daughters to private schools -- lashed out recently in her The Answer Sheet blog against Mitt Romney's ideas for education reform, in which school vouchers are a central piece.

Romney's ideas are predicated on "an ideology that demonizes unions." Strauss complained in her May 24 post -- which was also printed in the May 28 Washington Post on page B2 -- concluding that "if Romney gets a chance to run education policy according to his new plan, [you can] expect things to get worse."

WaPo: Arne Duncan Offered to Meet Matt Damon at the Airport Before Protest
By Tim Graham | August 29, 2011 | 7:55 AM EDT

Washington Post education columnist Valerie Strauss reported Monday that people in the Obama administration made several desperate attempts to lobby actor Matt Damon just before he spoke at last month's "Save Our Schools" rally in Washington D.C., blasting an emphasis on standardized tests and insisting he would never have become a movie star under that kind of education system.

Citing unnamed sources in sensitive spots, Strauss claimed "Duncan was willing to meet Damon at the airport when he flew into the Washington region and talk to him on the drive into the city, according to the sources. Damon declined all of the requests."