Rather than analyzing second-hand accounts of last week's summit, we've decided to share with you a set of links to various reports.

• The first item is a 2-minute YouTube video from the Associated Press of President Obama addressing the summit.
• The White House Community College Website
• Inside Higher Ed: Praise But No Cash
• Inside Higher Ed: Community Colleges' Day in the Sun
• The Chronicle of Higher Education: At the White House, Praise and New Challenges for Education's 'Unsung Heroes'
• The Christian Science Monitor: Gates Gives $35M to Obama's Community College Overhaul
• The New York Times: White House Plans Job Training Partnership
• Community College Week: Summit Leaves Leaders Wanting More
• Community Colleges Inside the Beltway: White House Summit on Community Colleges Ends With a Consensus on Challenges

One reporter captured some of the event's cynicism:

In the East Room, I asked a White House press corps regular how the event ranked, one to ten, in terms of stops the White House could pull out. "A five," he said, though "you didn't hear it from me." The East Room wasn't set up for cramming in as many people as possible. "Half-day event, all day spin. The Big Man isn't going to the wrap up. That's definitely a five." We press were roped off in the back third of the East Room, and the 100 or so of us didn't fill the space.

I counted four empty seats among the guests. (Among the guests, unlike my community college classes, no piercings other than earlobes. No Jordans. No Nikes.) As a matter of proportionality, the President of the United States has the whole world and parts of outer space in his hands, and he showed up to speak, not wave. The White House is The White House is The White House. Five out of ten? Plenty generous for community colleges.