Did McCain confuse charter schools with private schools?

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Wednesday October 15, 2008 · 8:54 PM PDT

2008/10/15 · 20:54

In answer to the education question near the end, Sen. McCain praised charter schools. Charter schools are public schools that operate under charters that help get them out from under some of the regulations that other public schools have to follow.

But do you get the impression that McCain actually meant to say private schools instead of charter schools? It sure sounds like he's trying to make a distinction between private and public schools, not between charter and conventional public schools.

McCain: Well, it's the civil rights issue of the 21st century. There's no doubt that we have achieved equal access to schools in America after a long and difficult and terrible struggle.

But what is the advantage in a low income area of sending a child to a failed school and that being your only choice?

So choice and competition amongst schools is one of the key elements that's already been proven in places in like New Orleans and New York City and other places, where we have charter schools, where we take good teachers and we reward them and promote them.

And we find bad teachers another line of work. And we have to be able to give parents the same choice, frankly, that Sen. Obama and Mrs. Obama had and Cindy and I had to send our kids to the school -- their kids to the school of their choice.

Charter schools aren't the only answer, but they're providing competition. They are providing the kind of competitions that have upgraded both schools -- types of schools.

By the way, as Sen. Obama said early in the debate, long before this question came up, he supports charter schools.

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