Change I'd Like To Believe

It's amazing what the light of day will do to even The Chosen One's plans. Obama's change.gov website was edited last night to take out references to "requiring" middle and high school and college students to do "community service." Here's the new and improved version.

Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Asking college students to work in exchange for their free money from the government isn't a bad idea at all. Let's just hope that community service is defined broadly enough to include more than ACORN.

As far as "setting a goal" for community service by secondary school kids, we'll have to watch that. It still makes me nervous.

I think this change reflects a PR move much more than a change of heart. The Obama administration's first natural inclination will always be to force "change" in what it believes to be the best interests of "the people."