Rah for the old' Alma Mater

There are certain moments when I am right proud of Washington State - here is one: the University of Washington, somewhere between the 15th and 22nd best university in the world, depending on who you talk to, is offering free tuiton - FREE - to lower income state residents- about 5000 every year.

Rewarding hard work with opportunity, regardless of social class: Crazy. Crazy wicked good.

Props to Univ. of North Carolina, which pioneered a similiar program two years ago.

Of course, what's about to happen is that tuition will go up - the play is that the U would be allowed raise tuition for those who can afford it closer to the prevailing rate, which is, um, rather a bit more. But if the idea is that the UW undercharged parents who really could afford it, and this is an excellent tradeoff that results in greatly expanded opportunities.

Why am I a Democrat? This stuff - powerful, competitive public education, rivaling the best universities in the world, making a state better, more prosperous, more equal, and more generous. Why not everywhere in America? Why not everywhere in the world?