The Stakes Of Electoral Politics

[Dennis Breslin]

Leo, the prospect of a Gore presidency has fizzled, so my
response is truly academic.  Politicians like Gore work with
a very elastic political philosophy that has two end points.
One is the concession to a salt of the earth conservatism
that provides a fix on what the people want. The other is
the old do what it takes to win strategy.  Those points 
can easily become scissor blades that will cut bait 
whenever the circumstances call for it.  And your 
political agenda is their bat. Gore might
not have been pro-vouchers but like Clinton if the 
political winds shift he's sign-on or at least sign
it and then take credit for it.

Education should never have been an issue in this
election - it's a side issue at the best of times.
Of course there's serious stuff going on in education
that call for attention.  But the issue was coopted
by the right a long time ago and the best you're doing
is rear-guard action.  In this case, the agenda is frozen:
school reform is now settled. The other side got its 
message across:  Schools now need
reforming and it will best be done by moving away
from how and how much schools are funded to the
accountability stuff: test scores and teacher
competency.  You've been out Gramscied...some time
ago.

Dennis Breslin