Like it or not, President Barack Obama does not mince his words. Perhaps that is why even some of the people who do not agree with him appreciate and respect his candor and approach to issues.

He is not George W. Bush. He does not run his administration like the former president who believed in imposition and confrontation rather than consensus building and engagement.

In a recent WDIV Channel 4 interview with anchor Devin Scillian, I and two other media colleagues, Stephen Anderson of the Detroit Free Press and Nolan Finley of the Detroit News, were asked to grade the president’s performance in his first six months in office prior to his visit to Michigan.

Facing a wide range of questions from healthcare to the Iraq war and Afghanistan to the much talked about Cap and trade bill, I gave the president an A.

I explained the reason for my grade, reminding my colleagues that this administration took over the reigns from a dismal system called the Bush cabal that ran amok for eight years. And it’s unfair for some of us to expect him to undo those failed policies in six months.

Anderson, editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press, rated the president with a B+ and the Detroit News’ editorial page editor Finley gave Obama an F – meaning the president is failing.

Both Anderson and Finley argued their case for grading the president as they did.

While I respect the views of Anderson and Finley regarding Obama’s overall administering of the public trust, it is abundantly clear that we see things from different perspectives. But that is the uniqueness of our individual assignments and it enriches the diversity of our views in this democracy.

Whatever grade the president is being given does not alter the fact that he is hard at work, and is not held hostage by grades.

Appearing in Warren July 14, his first visit to the state since becoming president, I welcomed the idea of Obama calling Michiganders to a truth telling session.

Like a surgeon, President Obama performed on the maladies of those in government and others driving our educational vehicle, who have dismissed any notion that community colleges are key to building our state.

He reminded those of us who have long relegated community colleges to second-class status that these same educational institutions are very much a part of the pool from which tomorrow’s leaders would emerge.

The president was honest and candid.

“Even as this painful restructuring takes place in our auto industry, workers are seeking out training for new auto jobs. And community colleges are an essential part of our recovery in the present and our prosperity in the future,” Obama said before a packed audience of students, workers, leaders in education, government and the private sector at Macomb County Community College.

“What we face is far more than a passing crisis. This is a transformative moment. And in this moment we must do what other generations have done. It’s not the time to shrink from the challenges we face or put off tough decisions.”

Six months into office, Obama used the occasion of underscoring the role of community colleges to announce the American Graduation Initiative (AGI).

He called it “the most significant down payment yet on reaching the goal of having the highest college graduation rate of any nation in the world.”

“So we’ve already taken some steps that are building the foundation for a 21st century education system here in America, one that will allow us to compete with China and India and everybody else all around the world,” the president said.

AGI, according to Obama, will transform and strengthen community colleges like Macomb’s and Wayne County’s to unable them get the resources that students and schools need and the results workers and businesses demand.

He added, “Through this plan, we seek to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates in the next decade – 5 million. Not since the passage of the original GI Bill and the work of President Truman’s Commission on Higher Education, which helped to double the number of community colleges and increase by seven-fold enrollment in those colleges, have we taken such a historic step on behalf of community colleges in America.”

The president said his goal is that by 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

“Already we’ve increased Pell grants by $500. We’ve created a $2,500 tax credit for four years of college tuition,” Obama said. “We’ve simplified student aid applications and ensured that aid is not based on the income of a job that you just lost.”

On the road to transforming community colleges, Obama said his administration would give $10 billion in loans to renovate and rebuild college classrooms and buildings in the nation.

“All too often, community colleges are treated like the stepchild of the higher education system. And that means schools are often years behind in facilities they provide, which means, in a 21st century economy, they are years behind in the education they can offer,” Obama warned.

“Through this fund, schools will have the chance to borrow at a more affordable rate to modernize facilities, and they’ll be building on the funds in the recovery plan that are already helping to renovate schools, including community colleges all across the country.

“And by the way, not only does this improve the schools and the training that they’re providing, guess what? You also have to hire some workers and some tradesmen and women to do the work on those schools. So it means it’s putting people to work in Michigan right here, right now.”

But community colleges would have to compete for those dollars and make their curriculum flexible to meet the demands of the nation’s economy and the global economy.

Obama noted that some of the most successful community colleges are the ones that work with the private sector. He cited Cisco as an example where students are prepared in broadband and health IT.

The president also indicated that 59 percent of all new nurses are produced by community colleges.

Michigan Govenor Jennifer Granholm was lauded by the president for her efforts in bringing jobs to the state with the program “No Worker Left Behind.”

Speaking to the media following the president’s remarks, Granholm said part of her focus is training people for the new jobs in emerging sectors.

“The fact that the president is making this a key initiative, that he wants to double the number of college graduates in the country – the same as us – thanks to John Cherry and the Cherry Commission this is a great message for us in Michigan,” Granholm said.

Earlier, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, who received a gracious welcome from Obama who joked numerous times about the mayor’s basketball career, applauded the president for making education the focus of his maiden visit to the state.

“Getting young people back in education is very important,” Bing said. “Too often kids are just satisfied to get by, a lot of them are taking the wrong kind of subject matter, which is not preparing them for the jobs of the 21st century. We want to change the culture and the mindset so our kids can compete on a global basis.”

United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger said Obama is going beyond education to jobs creation to help communities impacted by the automotive industry crisis.

“I’ve got no complaints with the President. I think he’s done an outstanding job,” Gettelfinger said. “He’s made some positive moves. He put the stimulus out there. He stepped in and helped the auto industry and we can never forget that without his involvement General Motors and Chrysler would not be here.”

University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman was among the state’s educational leaders invited to hear the president lay out his plan for community colleges.

Coleman said public universities have a significant role to play in helping community colleges succeed.

“One of the things we’ve seen over the last few years is an increase in emphasis on students who start out at community colleges and continue
on at four-year institutions,” she said. “At U-M we are seeing a larger number of transfer students and we certainly want to encourage students
to think about that as a viable option.”

Coleman added that while it’s important to emphasize an associate degree from a community college, students would need to maximize themselves
to meet the challenges as well as opportunities of the 21st century by obtaining a four-year degree.

“I’m just really pleased that we’ve got some new scholarship programs for community colleges to help transfer students finance their way to University of Michigan,” Coleman said. “I’m here to support the president and certainly hope that he will speak about higher education in the U.S. being one of the jewels that this nation has.”

She said there are a lot of good programs in the state that are not been touted.

“I am so sick of hearing about all the bad stories,” Sue Coleman said. “All people want to do is preside over the demise of Michigan, and I don’t believe in that. I believe there are a lot of innovative things happening, a lot of it in higher education across the state.”

Robert Bobb, Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager, said the president’s message was on track.

“He’s putting real dollars behind it. What we have to do at the K-12 level is prepare these students so that they have choices whether it is community
college or a four-year college or university,” Bobb said. “So if we do a better job on the front end then these students entering the workforce will be much better prepared for a community college or the universities.”

Senior Editor Bankole Thompson is a radio and television analyst, sought after moderator and public lecturer. His latest book is “A Matter of Black Transformation.”
E-mail him at bthompson@michronicle.com.