Michelle Rhee, the celebrity, goes national
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Michelle Rhee is going national.
Running the D.C. schools didn't give the superstar a big enough platform. So, with the U.S. education secretary's job already filled, she's on to her next act, heading a new organization, created around her, that has as its aim nothing short of transforming public education in America.
Just to make sure nobody missed the launch of Students First, at StudentsFirst.org, Rhee arranged to have it announced by - who else? - Oprah Winfrey, who this year anointed Rhee "a warrior woman." And in what is surely a journalistic coincidence, there was a cover story in Newsweek magazine on Rhee, written by - who else? - Rhee.
When you go to the Students First Web site, the first large image you see is not of Rhee with students, who are supposed to be first, but of Rhee with Oprah, celebrity to celebrity.
What Rhee wants to do is raise $1 billion - yes, BILLION- to lobby for the reforms she started in the District. Considering all of the billionaire philanthropists who love her