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Barack Obama: Yes, He Could

In the first week of 2008, Barack Obama rocked the political world with a win in the Iowa caucuses. But the question remained: Could this black man with a rich personal history and sparse elective resume make it all the way to the presidency?

Yes, he could.

Obama took us along on a wild ride, smashing political and racial barriers as he was elected the nation's 44th president in an electoral landslide. His message of hope and change - and the viral YouTube mantra of "Yes, we can" - resonated with millions of voters after eight years of George W. Bush.

All election years are for the history books, but this one seemed especially historic: The racial angle. The high stakes. The fascinating personalities. The huge amount of money raised. The intense, sometimes over-the-top interest in this campaign.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America," Obama told his supporters gathered in Chicago's Grant Park on election night, and multitudes more in a restive nation.

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26/12/08 · 0 comentarios · Autor: Walter ·

New York’s New Choices Raise Stakes for Middle School

n the quest to find the perfect middle school for her 10-year-old daughter, Aimée Margolis has zig-zagged across Manhattan for 11 school visits, grilled pre-teenagers at a school fair on music classes and the preferred attire at dances, and compiled a dog-eared folder full of notes.

Then there is the bathroom test.

After a 90-minute tour of the Clinton School for Writers and Artists in Chelsea, Ms. Margolis casually slipped away for what appeared to be a quick pit stop. She carefully occupied a stall, waited for a cluster of students to walk in, and listened.

“It gives you a glimpse behind the scenes,” Ms. Margolis explained of her sub rosa research. “At the tour everybody’s ready for you, everybody has a happy face. They say what they want to say, and you hear what they want you to hear.”

As the Bloomberg administration has created hundreds of new schools, centralized the admissions process and publicized the options, a wave of fifth-grade panic is sweeping certain parental precincts. Middle school is seen as a kind of educational black hole where raging hormones, changes in how youngsters learn and a dearth of great teachers can collide to send test scores plummeting.

Many parents fear that picking the wrong school could dash their children’s chances for a top high school or college.

This year, worry that the economic downturn could create an influx of students fleeing private schools has only ratcheted up the anxiety in the city’s wealthier neighborhoods. In the lowest-performing districts, the pressure is more urgent because of a new retention policy that could hold back scores of failing eighth-graders, raising the frightening specter of hallways populated by bearded teenagers. Many parents also fear that impending budget cuts could endanger the arts and sports programs they rely on to captivate even the surliest adolescent.

For the vast majority of parents who send their children to neighborhood elementary schools, fifth grade is the entree into the smorgasbord of school choice; 10 of the city’s 32 districts require applications (rather than automatically assigning students by geography), and most others welcome them. So this is a season when parents obsessed with small classes and seasoned teachers face off with 10-year-olds focused on, say, whether they would be allowed to eat lunch off-campus and what scents waft down hallways.

“We’ve got to find him somewhere where he’s going to blossom,” Agni Zotis said of her shaggy-haired son, Francis Serrano. “This is a very fragile age. Things get introduced. If they’re not directed well, they could get lost.”

Over the past two years, the city has taken steps to standardize middle-school admissions, organizing fairs in each district, printing directories to clarify options and creating a uniform timeline. Applications preprinted with each fifth grader’s test scores and attendance record were distributed this month and are due, with choices ranked, on Jan. 9. For the first time, the applications will be processed using a $9.7 million system being developed by Vanguard Direct for prekindergarten through high school admissions.

But these changes have also highlighted how wildly admissions policies vary between schools and districts.

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Questions linger after Bush withdraws pardon

Isaac Toussie, 36, was convicted in 2001 of mail fraud and of making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development that stemmed from the mortgage scheme.

The White House initially announced the pardon Tuesday afternoon, immediately setting off a firestorm of criticism from angry homeowners and investors, as well as government watchdog organizations quick to note Toussie's ties to prominent Republican officeholders.

Among the questions now being asked are:

• Why didn't the White House conduct a more thorough investigation of Toussie's background?

• Why did White House Counsel Fred Fielding circumvent the typical pardon application process by directly considering Toussie's clemency request instead of leaving it to the Justice Department?

• Did Toussie get special treatment because of his political connections? Video Watch why Bush withdrew the pardon »

Toussie and his father, also a developer, are defendants in a lawsuit filed in New York federal court on behalf of more than 400 minority home purchasers who allege a conspiracy involving racial steering, racketeering and fraud related to homes the Toussies built on Staten Island, attorney Peter Seidman told CNN.
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Seidman, a partner in a law firm representing the plaintiffs, said he was "very pleased" with President Bush's order for a review of the pardon.

"It [the pardon] was a bitter pill for the home purchasers to swallow," he said.

The Toussies had previously been accused of conspiring with lenders and others to build and sell substandard homes -- a charge they denied.

According to a senior administration official, the White House learned new information about Toussie's case Tuesday night -- hours after the pardon was announced.

Specifically, the White House learned, according to the official, "additional information about the nature of fraud [Toussie] carried out." The White House also learned that Toussie's father had made numerous contributions to leading GOP politicians.

In 2008, Toussie's father donated almost $40,000 to Arizona Sen. John McCain, Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith and Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor.

White House press secretary Dana Perino issued a statement Wednesday saying that "based on information that has subsequently come to light," Bush had told the Justice Department's pardon attorney not to act on the pardon extended to Toussie.

Instead, Perino said, "The president believes that the pardon attorney should have an opportunity to review this case before a decision on clemency is made."

While almost all pardon requests go through the Justice Department, the Constitution allows the president to grant a pardon or commutation to any individual for any reason.

Perino said Toussie's pardon was withdrawn before it reached the final stage of the process. The president's request never made it to the pardon attorney, who actually executes the pardon requests.

Bradford Berenson, Toussie's lawyer, issued a statement saying Toussie "remains confident" that the pardon attorney will find in his favor.

Toussie was sentenced in September 2003 to a five-month prison sentence in the Long Island case, as well as three years of supervised release.

Seidman told CNN that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Toussies allege that the quality of construction in homes they bought on Staten Island was inferior to that in the model homes upon which they had based their decision to buy.

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