McCain courts skeptical blacks at NAACP event
CINCINNATI - Republican John McCain courted skeptical black voters yesterday, pledging to the nation's oldest civil rights group that he will expand education opportunities, partly through vouchers for low-income children to attend private school.
McCain, who skipped the NAACP convention along other Republican presidential hopefuls during the primaries last year, received mostly polite applause in a room with some empty seats, two days after Democrat Barack Obama received a thunderous reception from a standing-room only audience hoping to see him become the first black president of the United States.
McCain seemed to acknowledge that he is unlikely to win significant support from black voters in November - a reality made clear in a New York Times/CBS News poll published yesterday that shows McCain with a paltry 5 percent approval rating among African-Americans. In the poll, 57 percent of blacks say they have an unfavorable view of McCain.
"I am a candidate for president who seeks your vote and hopes to earn it," McCain told the NAACP. "But whether or not I win your support, I need your good will and counsel. And should I succeed, I'll need it all the more."
McCain praised Obama's historic campaign, but said the Illinois senator is wrong to oppose school vouchers for students in failing public schools. It is time, McCain said, to use vouchers and other tools such as merit pay for teachers to break from conventional thinking and the public education establishment.
"You know better than I do how different the challenges are today for those who champion the cause of equal opportunity in America," the Arizona senator said. "Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school?"
During a question-and-answer session, McCain also sought to assuage a frustrated Head Start teacher who said her salary from the federal program simply isn't enough.
The woman, wearing a union T-shirt, said she was making $17,000 a year and cannot afford housing, gas, food, or healthcare for her children. "We cannot continue this way," she said.
McCain said the point of his education platform was to boost pay for "a great and outstanding teacher like you" and other educators who are passionate about their work. "I want to reward good teachers," he said.
McCain said vouchers and merit pay for teachers whose students perform well are two important ways to help children in failing schools. Obama has indicated he would support some kind of merit pay system for teachers, if teachers help craft it.
"After decades of hearing the same big promises from the public education establishment, and seeing the same poor results, it is surely time to shake off old ways and to demand new reforms," McCain said. "That isn't just my opinion. It is the conviction of parents in poor neighborhoods across this nation who want better lives for their children."
