Spellings and Her Daily Apple

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings went all the way to New York and all she got was an apple?

For those who watched Spellings’ appearance on Tuesday’s “The Daily Show,” (the first appearance by a sitting Cabinet official from the Bush administration, we should add …), host Jon Stewart had an apple, No. 2 pencils and a Lunchables all ready for Spellings on his set. But Stewart kept the pencils and ate the Lunchables after Spellings’ segment, leaving the secretary with only her apple to bring home to Washington. Still, the apple sits proudly on her desk at the Department of Education … at least until it rots.

And, as he always seems to do, Stewart has made Spellings even cooler in the eyes of her daughter, Grace. The 14-year-old told Mommy that her friends watched the show and thought Mrs. Spellings was “cool.”

Ever the polished representative for his boss, Spellings’ spokesman Trey Ditto said, “Secretary Spellings has worked hard to maximize communication channels in order to reach her core audience — parents, educators and business leaders — to talk about how No Child Left Behind is working for America’s children. Considering who watches “The Daily Show,” Secretary Spellings had a great opportunity to talk to Jon about educating America’s youth.”