Education Not In The Mix

Both campaigns are posturing for an angle, each looking at how best to get and maintain support. But note the lack of discussion about education. Other than job retraining, not much is being said. Each side is staking out positions on terror and the economy hoping that the undecideds will come over to their turf. Meanwhile test scores and funding issues take a back seat. Both candidates understand that momma wants the kids safe first and educated second. With broader topics looming, education just may have to sit this election out.

This is good for Bush, bad for Kerry. Democrats traditionally "own" domestic issues. The fact that some traditional domestic debates are not making it to the surface of campaign rhetoric underscores Kerry's need to hone his message. The fact that both candidates are barely giving lip service to a once hotly debated topic shows that, for now, the Bush campaign is controlling the agenda.