Laura Bush - a uniter, not a divider

I wonder why the first lady is the only person in the Bush Administration who's popular with both Democrats and Republicans. This week after a report for the Dept of Education was published stating that boys lag far behind girls in school, she charged that boys are being overlooked and that "we've paid a lot of attention to girls for the last 30 years ... but we have actually neglected boys" (I turn 30 this year, so all of a sudden my life's history makes sense) .

A psychologist agreed with Laura by saying that boys are suffering because they are sitting in classrooms where they can't perform at the same level as girls and so they cannot compete with girls and this has led to boys "suffering both academically and emotionally".

Solution to the problem could include dividing boys and girls into separate schools or to change the class curriculm to meet better meet the needs of boys. The University of Washington has spearheaded a program called "Project Gear Up" which separates boys and girls in a summer program to teach high school students about college and potential careers. Would Laura Bush endorse a single sex classroom? I think not.

The Department of Education points out that boys:
• Receive the majority of D and F grades given to students in most schools, as high as 70 percent.
• Create 80 percent of classroom discipline problems.
• Account for 80 percent of high school dropouts.
• Are an average of a year to a year-and-a-half behind girls in reading and writing skills.

Mrs. Bush is the mother of two grown daughters, so why should she care. I didn't see Mr. Bush make any comments on the report. The first lady is a former teacher and librarian. She knows the real deal when it come to boys and girls. So maybe she could bring together Democrats and Republicans or better yet conflicting parties in the Middle East. Should she think about running for Senator of Texas. The Bush daughters managed to help daddy win in '04, maybe they could help mommy win in 2007 or 2009.