Chris Dodd: “If you were to ask the question, what is the state of the union, to the average person, if the question were to be…”

“If you were to ask the question, what is the state of the union, to the average person, if the question were to be asked, I suppose, of the average family, you may get this sort of analysis: How secure is my family economically? Personally? What does our future look like? That is not a bad question, when you ask how are you doing. When it comes to the issue of education, I think the answer has to be: Worried about how I see the future for my family and our children. I am relying on the Federal Government to be a supporter of basic needs in education. You have to be able to listen to the rhetoric. You will hear a speech tonight. I presume it will be a good one. Presidents normally give pretty good speeches on the State of the Union. But I also think, as my colleagues pointed out, matching up the rhetoric, the language, with the action is critically important. It is the same as we would ask of anyone else. It is nice to hear words about diversity of higher education, nice to hear about making college more affordable, and leaving no child behind. But then you quickly have to ask, Now, what have you done to increase the diversity of our populations in higher education?”