A great many children left behind

There is a school of thought in crisis management that says, if you have a completely intractable problem, sometimes the only solution is to create a larger problem. In fact, to blow things up to the point where you get to start over. Sometimes that’s a strategy that happens not just by design, but by outcome.

When then Newark Mayor Cory Booker, N.J. Governor Chris Christie and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg put together a plan that they thought would completely reform and transform Newark schools back in 2010, they thought they were doing the right thing. However what they did was reminiscent of what Ronald Reagan declared as the most terrifying phrases in the English language…”I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

What they did, what they failed at and even what they succeeded at, shows how incredibly hard it is to be transformative in public education. This is the story told by Dale Russakoff in The Prize: Who's in Charge of America's Schools?

My conversation with Dale Russakoff:

Chris Christie

We know from watching Wisconsin and the events in neighboring states, that public sector unions have become political whipping posts for Republican politicians, especially Governors. But where Wisconsin’s Gov. Walker may have overreached and seems politically tone deaf and Arnold Schwarzenegger was to timid here in California; New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie may have found the sweat spot, as the pitch perfect spokesmen to an electorate fed up with the rising salaries and perks for public employees and their unions.

In so doing, he may actually have a chance to move his state forward, reduce deficits, and engage in endless bloody battles, while becoming more popular in the process. Is he a model for other politicians, or just a big bully who knows how to craft a message?  All of this is part of the Cover Story in this past Sunday's N.Y Times Magazine, by one of the best political reporters in America, Matt Bai. Matt is the new Chief Political Correspondent for The New York Times Magazine.

My conversation with Matt Bai about Gov. Chris Christie:

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