To create the power of competence without creating a corresponding direction to guide the use of that power is bad education.

Higher education is one of few areas where this country competes with the rest of the world and wins. The best of American higher education outstrips any in the world. Look where the rest of the world goes for higher education for graduate degrees. They come here.

To compete in a global economy our students must continue their education beyond high school. To make this expectation a reality we must give students the tools they need to succeed including the opportunity to take a college entrance exam.

Education levels the playing field allowing everyone to compete.

If you improve education by teaching for competence eliminating schooling and connecting with students the test scores will improve.

Education: the inculcation of the incomprehensible into the indifferent by the incompetent.

You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever it is the gateway to a middle-class life.

Like all young reporters - brilliant or hopelessly incompetent - I dreamed of the glamorous life of the foreign correspondent: prowling Vienna in a Burberry trench coat speaking a dozen languages to dangerous women narrowly escaping Sardinian bandits - the usual stuff that newspaper dreams are made of.

To die for one's country is such a worthy fate that all compete for so beautiful a death.

The criteria for serving one's country should be competence courage and willingness to serve. When we deny people the chance to serve because of their sexual orientation we deprive them of their rights of citizenship and we deprive our armed forces the service of willing and capable Americans.

Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that once it is competently programmed and working smoothly it is completely honest.

There is a growing literature about the multitude of journalism's problems but most of it is concerned with the editorial side of the business possibly because most people competent to write about journalism are not comfortable writing about finance.

A successful economic development strategy must focus on improving the skills of the area's workforce reducing the cost of doing business and making available the resources business needs to compete and thrive in today's global economy.

I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.

That's what liberalism is all about is promoting incompetence on the basis it's fair because people would be the best if they weren't discriminated against.

Shortly thereafter some friends encouraged me to try out for the Miss South Carolina World beauty pageant. To my surprise I won - and was sent to New York City to compete nationally.

Competence like truth beauty and contact lenses is in the eye of the beholder.