Sen. John McCain will use a speech he plans to give to the NAACP annual convention next week in Cincinnati to talk about education. According to this Associated Press story, he will talk about merit pay for teachers, and tutoring for low-income students on July 16.

His chief education adviser, Lisa Graham Keegan, told a group of reporters last month that McCain’s official education platform won’t be unveiled until later in the summer or early fall, during “back-to-school” time when people are “listening.” But apparently, next week’s NAACP meeting has provided the Arizona senator with the “right opportunity” to talk about schools. Given all of the focus now on domestic issues, particularly the economy, job losses and global competition, I was beginning to wonder how long McCain could wait before he started talking seriously about the role of education.

I think people are listening now.