TRANSITION: Another Week Of Duncan-Watching

The next week or so will include a lot of speculation and hopefully some new reporting about Chicago's Arne Duncan, who is slated to testify in front of the HELP committee on teh 13th.  Will much news get dug up?  Probably not, based on the past couple of weeks.  And no one's ever suggested that Duncan is in any way dirty, so critics shouldn't hold their breath for a Richardson-like scandal and withdrawal anytime soon. 

But I'm hoping that more folks will note Duncan's grinch-like appearance, and that someone will finally explain why he's named Arne, not Arnie.  There seems to be the vestiges of a speech impediment when he talks, which could lead to a heart-warming story about how Duncan overcame academic or social difficulties (a la Michael Phelps).  And -- god forbid -- maybe more folks will take a look at Duncan's resistance to NCLB, the still-insufficient performance of the Chicago schools, and alla that stuff. 

Last but not least, there's the super-important issue of where the Duncan kids are going to go to school.  Remember that Duncan went to private school but sent his daughter at least to public.