Or in the words of Education Minnesota member and Congressman Tim Walz:

"I'm pleased that this was President Bush's last State of the Union speech. The American people are demanding change in Washington's priorities and while the Congress has made some progress, the President has been a consistent roadblock. Tonight we heard more of the same from the President. What we need is a change in priorities.

AFT President Ed McElroy's statement is printed in the post below. As for me, the paragraph of the speech that struck home was:

"The No Child Left Behind Act is a bipartisan achievement. It is succeeding. And we owe it to America's children, their parents, and their teachers to strengthen this good law… I ask you to support a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. We have seen how Pell Grants help low-income college students realize their full potential… now let"s apply that same spirit to help liberate poor children trapped in failing schools.”

Matt Yglesias' reaction is a classic bit of snark:

I like that Bush explicitly linked his plan to destroy the public school system with the idea of Pell Grants. That's appealing to liberals. And, of course, conservatives like George Bush are always shortchanging the Pell Grant system just as once they're done using poor kids as a bludgeon with which to beat down teachers they'll lose all interest in funding vouchers and return to their usual starve the poor attitude.

For a less snarky but more data-filled and equally spot-on analysis of the SOTU, the must read is over at the Drum Major Institute, which turns each such address into an opportunity to try to broaden the conversation.  The education part has some nice stats on how much more work needs to be done.  And, if you're an educationista who wants to get a good overview of the other issues, it's one-stop shopping.