when push comes to shove

I've always characterized myself as a supporter of NCLB, in spite of the fact that only Reading First appears to be working, and in spite of the fact that the law has drawbacks for kids like my own.

I didn't think I was an enthusiastic supporter of the law.

I thought I was a grudging supporter of the law.

Turns out I was wrong.

This morning, when Ed came upstairs and said WAPO was reporting that NCLB was going to be killed -- killed or eviscerated -- I felt stricken.

Funny thing is, Ed was stricken, too.

Back when NCLB passed he was hostile. We had a gazillion arguments of the George Bush didn't give the schools any money variety.

You can probably imagine how sympathetic I was to that.

The states haven't met their obligation to teach black and Hispanic kids ever, so the federal government needs to hand over a whole lot of money -- money that will be paid, presumably, by people who live in states -- and then maybe the states will think about it.

We had whopping big rows.

Now he's stricken, too.

We both are.