Edspresso wants readers to believe that an objective, informed journalist visited a school and found that the federal school voucher program helped the school do great things.  The writer saw "the pride and hunger for knowledge," "determined and gifted teachers," "a palpable thirst for learning among the students." 

But, wait "hunger" and "thirst"?  That writing seems a little over the top for a journalist.  And since this one was identified by Edspresso's Ryan Boots only as a "columnist [who] likes what he sees," you click on the link and discover that it's Gary Andres, writing for the Washington Times.  Then you fire up Google and discover that Andres:

• Is a lobbyist for Dutko Worldwide
• Has a colleague named Ron Kaufman, Dutko's Senior Managing Principal, who is on the board of the Washington Scholarship Fund, which administers DC's vouchers.
• Has, with his wife, contributed more than $200,000, all to Republicans ...UNTIL he made a recent contribution to a Green Party (??!!) candidate who just might pull votes away from Rick Santorum's Democratic opponent this fall.

If you're going to identify Gary Andres is a "columnist," you may as well identify Jack Abramoff as a "landscaper" because he sometimes works in his garden.  Gary Andres is a lobbyist/Republican political operative who knew exactly what he was going to write before he ever set foot in that DC school.

Up next week at Edspresso, some slightly dated, pro-NCLB pieces from a columnist named Armstrong Williams.

Update: Eduwonk, not content with having just two blogs at Ed Sector, wants to edit this one.  He thinks I should have written this post as less of an ad hominem attack on journalist Gary Andres and more of a criticism of Andres' pro-voucher anecdote and of vouchers as public policy. 

All right, everyone who wants to hear from the teachers union about how bad vouchers are, raise your hand.  I thought so. Eduwonk, here's AFT's take on vouchers.  Knock yourself out.