"The Republicans in Washington have been trying to gut our investments in education," Obama told an invitation-only crowd of parents, school staffers and Democratic politicians inside the school.
Obama announced new rules for Head Start, a child-development program for low-income families, which he said would increase accountability and ensure that tax dollars aren't wasted on ineffective programs. He said that his administration implemented the rules unilaterally and would continue looking for similar avenues to bypass the frequently gridlocked and increasingly unpopular legislative branch.
"If Congress continues to stand only for dysfunction and delay, then I'm going to move ahead without them," Obama said.
Zaniab Johnson, whose 4-year-old daughter attends the Head Start school, said that she supports Obama's education policies, including the reform of No Child Left Behind.
"Every child should get a chance for a good education, regardless of socioeconomic status," said Johnson, of Darby Borough.
Obama's Election Day speech yesterday effectively doubled as an early stop on the 2012 presidential campaign trail. To win a second term, he likely has to carry Pennsylvania - where 42 percent of voters say he deserves re-election and 52 percent say it's time for change, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall Poll.
Anna Frangiosa, one of a couple of dozen Occupy Philly protesters who showed up in Yeadon, said that she probably would vote for Obama again next year but isn't sure he deserves it.
"Corporations have the most influence over the president and pretty much every politician in the entire country," said Frangiosa, 35, of North Philly.
Occupy Philly organized the Obama protest on its Facebook page by denouncing the nation's electoral process, saying that "you can't elect change" because "all politicians" cater to the wealthy: "Since Obama has been in office, he has broken promises, bailed out the banks, catered to corporations, started wars, and sold out the rest of us."
"All of the politicians are bought," Frangiosa said, "and that applies to him, too, unfortunately."
