Although James Forsyth in Coffee House had a point on Friday when he asked What on earth were the Tories thinking?, the comments on Michael White’s post Not Smart in the Guardian’s Politics Blog are instructive (those on Forsyth’s post somewhat more predictable). For example, and from Not Smart:
“On some levels, he has a point. How are these children going to be selected? Is it just going to be the top students who go, or will it be a lottery. I think it should be open to all ages (and classes) and not just sixth-formers. And what about genocide happening today in Darfur? Wouldn’t the money be better spent on providing aid to victims suffering now?”
or
He’s right though. Teach children properly about what happened rather than sending a couple on a tourist trip. But effective teaching doesn’t get so many headlines.
And 48 hours on, there are new headlines and new stories.
Enough said: George Wilkinson's blog 