Misstate of the Union

What Obama said: 

"For less than 1 percent of what our nation spends on education each year, we've convinced nearly every state in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning—the first time that's happened in a generation."

But he could have put it this way:

By adding just one-third of one percent to state coffers, the feds get to implement their version of education reform. That includes rating teachers and principals by their students’ scores on state tests; using those ratings to dismiss teachers with low scores and to pay bonuses to high scorers; and reducing local control of education. -- Mike Winerip, NYT: "In Race to the Top, the Dirty Work Is Left to Those on the Bottom"