The most unexpected name-drop of last night’s presidential debate (besides, of course, Joe the Plumber) was D.C.’s own schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, as the final moments of the broadcast slid into bickering between McCain and Obama over whether or not Rhee supports vouchers:

OBAMA: I’ll just make a quick comment about vouchers in D.C. Senator McCain’s absolutely right: The D.C. school system is in terrible shape, and it has been for a very long time. And we’ve got a wonderful new superintendent there who’s working very hard with the young mayor there to try…

MCCAIN: Who supports vouchers.

OBAMA: … who initiated — actually, supports charters.

MCCAIN: She supports vouchers, also.

City Desk has the statement DCPS issued shortly after the debate ended – basically, both Rhee and Mayor Fenty have offered their support for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships, a federally funded voucher program that is popular with parents but hasn’t necessarily demonstrated significant improvement in student achievement. However, the statement clarifies that “while Chancellor Rhee hasn’t taken a formal position on vouchers, she disagrees with the notion that vouchers are the remedy for repairing the city’s school system.” Marc Fisher makes the argument that since Rhee has never opposed vouchers, McCain got that part right. Then again, Rhee obviously stands for school reform much more than she does for vouchers, which is what Obama was arguing for last night.

It’s also worth remembering that Rhee, a Democrat, has in the past offered support for McCain’s education platform. Regardless, it’s pretty cool that the final moments of the final presidential debate centered on reforming urban schools, and D.C.’s schools in particular. Even though neither candidate actually said “Michelle Rhee” last night, in the past, both men have tossed Rhee’s name out there in efforts to link themselves to the work she’s doing here. It’s even prompting some rumors that she’s being considered for Secretary of Education by Obama, even though she’s repeatedly said that she has committed to staying at the head of D.C. Schools as long as Adrian Fenty is still mayor and still wants her in the job.