Ravitch's very apt description of Arne Duncan.

Duncan is without question the most anti-teacher,anti-public school Secretary of Education in our history, and I say that advisedly. Both Bill Bennett Reagan’s second term Secretary) and Rod Paige (George W. Bush’s first term Secretary) had their faults, but they did nothing more than talk. Paige, remember, called the NEA a “terrorist” organization. But neither had the ability to open thousands of privately managed schools, neither persuaded states to judge teachers by the test scores of their students. Besides, both served Republican presidents so their antipathy to unions was not surprising. Duncan works in a Democratic administration. What is his excuse for applauding the mass firing of the staff in Central Falls, Rhode Island? The destruction of public education in New Orleans? The release of teacher names with student scores in Los Angeles? The Vergara decision, attacking due process rights? His close alliance with anti-public school groups like Democrats for Education Reform?

The only puzzle is why the vote was close. Are there NEA members who like a Secretary of Education who is hostile to public school teachers?

“The only puzzle is why the vote was close.”

Just a guess, but perhaps because many (if not most) Democrats will simply not criticize Obama (on anything for any reason) because they have been led (by Obama and other Democratic party leaders) to believe — indeed to fear — that if they do, they will hand victory to the Republicans in the upcoming election.

But, alas, there is always an upcoming election, so such an approach effectively means always withholding criticism, which leads to a party leadership that is sometimes completely unresponsive to (essentially ignores and sometimes even mocks) its members.