If it's education, it's also an election year.

The Washington Post seems to take every chance it can get to marry education and election year politics. Earlier in the week, Florida's FCAT graced WAPO's front page. Peter Whoriskey wrote that exam revolts were holding sway in campaigns in other parts of the country including the races for governor in Texas and Ohio.

Matrimonial profiteering continues today by the Post--in a year where education, sadly, figures low in voter priorities. Virginia's Senate race wrestles with the questions of NCLB and possible future iterations thereof. This is fine and well, but don't expect a substantive educational debate to happen in Virginia in the next 12 days.

As far as proposing something new both candidates pull out strange guns. Allen, to his credit, wants to spend big bucks (shocking I know) on technology grants for HBCUs and other majority minority schools. Webb, lamely, proposes money for troops returning from Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to go to college. A spokesperson for Webb, Denny Todd, said Webb envisions a plan modeled after the post-World War II G.I. Bill. Hmm, the G.I. Bill still exists! In fact today an Army service member can get up to $72,900 for college. Or build a gun library of their own with the money they'll save.

In closing two beefs: WAPO states that Allen was chief architect of the SOLs. Allen was not. He likes to take credit for the work of a hard working Charlottesville lawyer among others.

Also, in a speech to Patrick Henry College (appealing to the Evangelical Right much!) Allen said NCLB is "forcing Virginia schools to dumb down our curriculum." Right, which is why all Virginia students slam the SOLs based on the "dumbed-down curriculum" and score high NAEP marks year in and year out.