Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin/Who ever (826)

No sarcasm...I just think it's going to be really tough picking someone out of such a lofty bunch.

Have you looked?

Encourage Alternative Certification Methods That Open The Door For Highly Motivated Teachers To Enter The Field. John McCain will devote five percent of Title II funding to states to recruit teachers who graduate in the top 25 percent of their class or who participate in an alternative teacher recruitment program such as Teach for America, the New York City Teaching Fellowship Program, the New Teacher Project, or excellent university initiatives.

Provide Bonuses For Teachers Who Locate In Underperforming Schools And Demonstrate Strong Leadership As Measured By Student Improvement. John McCain will devote 60 percent of Title II funding for incentive bonuses for high performing teachers to locate in the most challenging educational settings, for teachers to teach subjects like math and science, and for teachers who demonstrate student improvement. Payments will be made directly to teachers. Funds should also be devoted to provide performance bonuses to teachers who raise student achievement and enhance the school-wide learning environment. Principals may also consider other issues in addition to test scores such as peer evaluations, student subgroup improvements, or being removed from the state's "in need of improvement" list.

Provide Funding For Needed Professional Teacher Development. Where federal funds are involved, teacher development money should be used to enhance the ability of teachers to perform in today's technology driven environment. We need to provide teachers with high quality professional development opportunities with a primary focus on instructional strategies that address the academic needs of their students. The first 35 percent of Title II funding would be directed to the school level so principals and teachers could focus these resources on the specific needs of their schools.

John McCain Believes We Must Empower School Principals With Greater Control Over Spending. Funding cannot be effectively apportioned in Washington, but it shouldn't be a state-level official or district bureaucrat either. The money must be controlled by the leader we hold accountable: the school principal with a single criterion to raise student achievement.

John McCain Will Make Real The Promise Of NCLB By Giving Parents Greater Choice. Choice is the best way to protect children against a failing bureaucracy. But parents must have more control over the money.

John McCain Will Expand The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. In our nation's capital, we have seen the dramatic benefits of giving parents control of money and choices. The Opportunity Scholarship program serves more than 1,900 students from families with an average income of $23,000 a year. More than 7,000 more families have applied for that program. The budget for the Opportunity Scholarships is currently $13 million. John McCain believes that this extremely successful program should expand to at least $20 million benefiting nearly a thousand more families.

John McCain Will Ensure Children Struggling To Meet State Standards Will Have Immediate Access To High Quality Tutoring Programs. Local school districts can certify education service providers but providers can also bypass the local bureaucracy and receive direct federal certification. Education service providers can then market directly to parents. Title I money will be directed straight to the provider.

John McCain Supports Expanding Virtual Learning By Reforming The "Enhancing Education Through Technology Program." John McCain will target $500 million in current federal funds to build new virtual schools and support the development of online course offerings for students. These courses may be for regular coursework, for enhancement, or for dual enrollment into college.

John McCain Will Allocate $250 Million Through A Competitive Grant Program To Support States That Commit To Expanding Online Education Opportunities. States can use these funds to build virtual math and science academies to help expand the availability of AP Math, Science, and Computer Sciences courses, online tutoring support for students in traditional schools, and foreign language courses.

John McCain Will Offer $250 Million For Digital Passport Scholarships To Help Students Pay For Online Tutors Or Enroll In Virtual Schools. Low-income students will be eligible to receive up to $4,000 to enroll in an online course, SAT/ACT prep course, credit recovery or tutoring services offered by a virtual provider. Providers could range from other public schools, virtual charter schools, home school parents utilizing virtual schooling resources or district or state sponsored virtual schools. The Department of Education would competitively award the funds to a national scholarship administrator who would manage the student applications, monitoring, and evaluation of providers.

The best thing he could do for education is to cut spending. It soars every year and for what?

Corperate tax cuts and welfare is so much more productive don't you guy's think, in a trickle down kind of a way?

Just a hunch...but I doubt there will be many "capital gains" this year...

Let me save you the trip, Stress..
That WAS from McCain's website!

Stress, I grew up with the clear understanding there were no free things in this world. Wealth is not given, it is earned. While I believe there is a time to assist those less fortunate, i also believe those less fortunate have an obligation to improve themselves and live within their means. I lived from payday to payday for many years, often times I went without but I did make it. If I can then they can too.

As far as education goes, I agree. Some additional or redistribution of tax money could really help with education. I don't know what either candidate is planning to do with education and I have my doubts they really have a plan that they can economically and realistically support.

Whatever we do, we really need to get back to the basics, resist coddling these kids, provide better pay to our teachers, demand parental involvement and grade these kids accurately instead of just running them through the system. Way too many illiterate high school graduates. Finally, those special interests groups need to stay out of the school system and the fed or state governments should provide zero funds for "schools" with political and/or religeous agendas/curriculum.

Well where is the outrage when we are bailing out wall street? When corperate tax cuts are given while we run a war on credit cards? When bad banking practices de-stablize our economy world economy?

I tell you its really giving the tac cuts to the middle class and below that's going to kill us in the end, oh wait maybe it will help them so much they stop killing themselves and their familys while their homes are being taken from them.

I disagree, I don't know if you've noticed but many people who use to be middle class aren't anymore. They are loosing their homes, loosing their jobs and loosing all hope. They need jobs, and need help right now.

The greed and entitlement and tax cuts to the wealthy have to be stopped. The bad lending practices of the world banking system (including the US) have to stop. And running wars on credit cards have to stop. That is what has destablized our economy.

Stress, the thing is, the assistance you mention is already available and to a much greater extent than it was when I was coming up.. There's the normal red tape ofcourse but the help's there.

I really think much of the problem is our lack of ability to live within our means. Earlier in this thread I believe Bob mentioned underbuying his house. I did the same thing. But a lot of folks with the keeping up with the Jones' mentality from the middle class overextended themselves along with a greater number of people from lower income classes doing the same thing. Certainly our political leadership from all parties have exaserbated this but I believe our own greed and lust for things with an "I want it now attitude" is the root cause. I know there are some good people that are suffereing because no fault of their own but I also believe a majority of these loans were bad to start with.