Mitchell assails campaign’s scant talk of education

BOSTON – National security issues and the war in Iraq are crowding out substantive discussion on other issues during this presidential campaign, former Sen. George Mitchell said Tuesday.

“It is frustrating that both education and the environment are receiving very little attention in the campaign and the media because they’re really critical issues, particularly for a state like Maine,” he said.

Mitchell made the comments after a speech at a breakfast for the 35 Maine delegates attending this week’s Democratic National Convention in Boston. A group of about 15 Maine college students were also on hand for the breakfast talk.

During his speech to the delegates and students, Mitchell spoke about the Democratic Party’s longtime commitment to education. In 1945, only about 4 percent of Americans graduated from college, he pointed out. But with the help of the GI Bill and other educational programs supported by Democrats, the rate is now up to 45 percent, he said.

Mitchell also spoke about the scholarship fund he created with his leftover campaign contributions after his retirement from the U.S. Senate in 1994. Since then, more than $4 million has been distributed to more than 1,000 Maine students, he said.

To honor Mitchell’s work during the Clinton administration on behalf of the Ireland peace process and Irish economic development, the U.S.-Ireland Alliance sponsors annual scholarships in Mitchell’s name for about a dozen American graduate students to study in Ireland.

Mitchell, who had a long career in public service, spent 14 years in the U.S. Senate and served as Senate majority leader before his retirement in 1994. Attending his 11th Democratic convention, Mitchell said he has seen the events change in both good and bad ways over the years.

In earlier conventions, he said, there weren’t as many primary elections, and not as many delegates committed to a particular candidate.

“Participants and the public rebelled against that – and the press, I would say – and wanted greater democratization,” he said.

Jim Martin, a Dean delegate from Orono, praised Mitchell’s work after his elected “political life” – including his authoring of the Irish peace plan.

“He represents such statesmanship in our party,” Martin said.

Martin also made comparisons between Mitchell and former President Jimmy Carter, who addressed the convention Monday night. Both senior statesmen, he said, have made significant diplomatic contributions, including in the areas of fair elections and poverty.

“They just represent what often doesn’t get talked about in the Democratic Party,” he said.