In his speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s march on Washington, President Obama hypocritically bemoaned the current state of education, saying that many Americans face a "fortress of substandard schools and diminished prospects." He claimed that such schools were "underfunded" and that every child has a "right ... to get an education that stirs the mind and captures the spirit and prepares them for the world that awaits them."