Amy Sullivan

WHO JUDGES TEACHERS?….Kevin asked below who would evaluate teachers in a system that rewarded effective teachers with merit pay. One solution that many school districts have turned to is hiring outside evaluators to provide more objective assessments of their teachers. Who are these evaluators? Well, with a growing number of districts looking to cut costs […]

MAKING IT OFFICIAL….Newsweek reports that chief White House speechwriter Michael Gerson (who is moving on to advise Bush on policy) is expected to be replaced by Wall Street Journal editorial-page writer William McGurn. [Insert “And that’s different from what he’s been doing, how?” joke here.] I’m not aware of any policy expertise that Gerson has–this […]

KEN MEHLMAN HATES CHRISTMAS!….I was about to delete the mass email from Ken Mehlman this morning without reading it (The “We’re bringing the Inauguration to you!” subject line was too depressing, especially since I can see inauguration parade preparations from my office window as it is…) But, boy, I’m glad I did, because now I’m […]

AT THE WATERS’ EDGE….One of the many articles I read today about the tsunamis in southeast Asia included a description of the waves, and the devastation they caused, as biblical. With the death tolls reaching levels the mind can barely grasp, the disaster does seem to belong to another age. In the midst of our […]

“CLEAR LIES”…OH, I GET IT. THAT’S HILARIOUS….Kevin’s internet connection has gone poof again and we’re scrambling to finish our next issue here, so it’s going to be light posting today. Our apologies. In the meantime, since the White House has just announced that it intends to make another run at passing its “Clear Skies” legislation–roundly […]

SOMEBODY FOUND SOME MOXIE….Wow. I sat up when I read this in Newsweek: When John Kerry stopped by a meeting of the liberal 527 America Votes two weeks ago, EMILY’s List president Ellen Malcolm asked him about the future of the Democratic Party. Kerry “told the group they needed new ways to make people understand […]

BLOGGERS WITH CONFLICTS OF INTEREST….As I read through this CBS column on political bloggers that Kevin linked to on Wednesday, I was struck not by the business about Atrios, but by the news that two purportedly independent South Dakota bloggers were on the payroll of John Thune’s campaign for much of the past year. It […]

OFF TO A GOOD START….The future just keeps getting brighter for Barack Obama. Pete Rouse, chief of staff to outgoing Democratic Leader has just agreed to head up Obama’s Senate office, bringing instant credibility and invaluable institutional knowledge to the operation. And he also provides a connection to the new crop of leaders on the […]

RECOUNT REDUX….A few words following up on yesterday’s post about the recount taking place (provided Dems raise the required $$ necessary–received an email solicitation from the DNC about it this morning) in the Washington state gubernatorial race. First, State Rep. Laura Ruderman–the Democratic challenger in Washington’s Secretary of State race–writes to dispute the charge that […]