Running Microsoft isn't enough?

Bill Gates and some other very rich folk want to spend a lot of money to run ads to tell everyone how important it is to prepare all students for college. We'd be saying "whoopee!"if only (a) the colleges really wanted all students, and (b) if college was affordable for all students. But it's not. (It's not even affordable if the tuition is paid because of fees, books, and the cost of living.)

You can listen to an interview with Melinda Gates from National Public Radio, or check this summary from the PEN Newsletter:

Eli Broad and Bill Gates, two of the most important philanthropists in American public education, have pumped more than $2 billion into improving schools. But now, dissatisfied with the pace of change, they are joining forces for a $60 million foray into politics in an effort to vault education high onto the agenda of the 2008 presidential race, reports David Herszenhorn in the New York Times. Experts on campaign spending said the project would rank as one of the most expensive single-issue initiatives ever in a presidential race, dwarfing, for example, the $22.4 million that the Swift Vets and P.O.W.s for Truth group spent against Senator John Kerry in 2004, and the $7.8 million spent on advocacy that year by AARP, the lobby for older Americans. Under the slogan "ED in ’08," the project, called Strong American Schools, will include television and radio advertising in battleground states, an Internet-driven appeal for volunteers and a national network of operatives in both parties. Mr. Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, wrote, "The lack of political and public will is a significant barrier to making dramatic improvements in school and student performance." The project will not endorse candidates -- indeed, it is illegal to do so as a charitable group -- but will instead focus on three main areas: a call for stronger, more consistent curriculum standards nationwide; lengthening the school day and year; and improving teacher quality through merit pay and other measures. While the effort is shying away from some of the most polarizing topics in education, like vouchers, charter schools and racial integration, there is still room for it to spark vigorous debate.