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Obama's speech on education this morning -- on which I'll have a more specific post in a moment -- began with a sharp jab at those questioning the scale of the administration's ambitions:
I know there are some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. They forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad, passed the Homestead Act, and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of Civil War. Likewise, President Roosevelt didn’t have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war. President Kennedy didn’t have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don’t have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term.I get why Obama didn't liken his administration to the Johnson White House. That's not exactly an example of how to do a number of big things at one time without letting the various initiatives overwhelm each other. But convenience aside, it's a little weird to start crediting Kennedy with civil rights. Good speech, but the guy who "handled" that was undoubtedly Johnson.
