Understanding the Issues: Education

[That Guy]

i absolutely will not vote for obama (too much tax and spend), but on education, i see nothing to disagree with... as far as pledging years for education, that's what the military does, and it works really well there (at least for the technical jobs, and they do 50 college credits in 6 months and throw on the GI bill and 100% tuition assistance, and offer to pay the full ride if you go officer or take certain jobs (nurse, etc)).

updating testing standards wouldn't be a bad idea either. charter schools are really hit or miss... post katrina is the best place to observe charters on a massive scale, and so far, while some are WAY above average, others really aren't doing anything better than public schools.

honestly, energy and education are the biggest long term problems facing america (and both affect the economy greatly). mccain has a very good plan on energy (lots of nuclear - one of the cheapest and cleanest, and SAFEST sources of energy, among other things), and he's really not running on education (he may steal some ideas, but i just don't see that as a focus of his beyond a quick press for vouchers, which aren't terrible, but don't really fix the problem either).

obama's education stance looks well researched and workable, though i would like to know the real cost estimates and how it's getting paid for... old newt agreed back in the late 90s that education is terribly out of date and needs to be overhauled to keep the future economy running like a freight train. while the ideas aren't new (most aren't) they'd definitely help.