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Although the campaign for federal intervention in education now swings, on schedule, into the legislative phase, interventionists are displaying unwarranted optimism. The White House Conference on Education was, everyone agrees, a brilliant propaganda stunt, both in staging and conception. Whether it was effective where it counts is, however, something else again. U.S. Congressmen are highly skeptical of the claim that the White House affair revealed overwhelming “grass-roots” support for federal aid. For it is a Congressman’s business to distinguish an expression of public opinion from a parade.

The purpose of the Conference was not to find out whether there is public support for federal aid; it was not even to drum up support for federal aid. It was to display support.

LB

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L. Brent Bozell Jr.

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Although the campaign for federal intervention in education now swings, on schedule, into the legislative phase, interventionists are displaying unwarranted optimism. The White House Conference on Education was, everyone agrees, a brilliant propaganda stunt, both in staging and conception. Whether it was effective where it counts is, however, something else again. U.S. Congressmen are highly skeptical of the claim that the White House affair revealed overwhelming “grass-roots” support for federal aid. For it is a Congressman’s business to distinguish an expression of public opinion from a parade.

The purpose of the Conference was not to find out whether there is public support for federal aid; it was not even to drum up support for federal aid. It was to display support.