Why Hasn't Arne Duncan Been Fired?

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has yet to offer a sincere apology for his recent statement that “white suburban moms” were responsible for opposition to the Common Core standards. The closest he has come is his statement on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday that he was sorry that his wording had been “clumsy.”

He has yet to apologize for using explicitly racial language to marginalize opponents of the policy. And at this point the blame has to rest with his boss, President Barack Obama. Notably, the president has credited much of his success to his own white suburban mom, who made sure he received the best education possible.

Nicole Wallace asked Duncan whether his comments were part of a divide-and-rule strategy, one frequently used by the supposedly post-racial president (i.e. encouraging Latinos to vote against their “enemies”). More likely, Duncan, was simply reflecting the ingrained racial prejudice of the elite left-wing establishment.

The biggest loser in all of this, aside from the children caught up in the Common Core fight, is the Obama administration itself. It has now polarized opinion on Common Core, probably irretrievably. The only way to begin to undo the damage at this point is for the president to fire Duncan. So why hasn’t he been fired yet?