Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

Once again, George Kaplan has proven why he is considered an incisive writer in the field of education. In his Commentary "Another Boilerplate Campaign Misses the Point," (Oct. 23, 1996) , he illuminates the distance between the concerns of the electorate on the issue of education and the candidates' consistent propensity to ignore these concerns--while appearing to respond accordingly. No matter how pressing voters' demands for genuine education reform seem in the opinion polls, the candidates manage to remain strategically at the noncontroversial center.

In the campaign just passed, President Clinton refined this approach to an art, managing to make safe and marginal initiatives appear momentous (school uniforms, Internet access, etc.). His record on education, it must be said, has been solid but by no means "reformist." Candidate Bob Dole's stands were, at best, uninspiring. In both cases, as Mr. Kaplan observes, the candidates did little to address the deteriorating situation of the urban and rural poor--problems which have a far more fundamental impact upon the long-term state of education in America. Indeed, President Clinton has even taken action to exacerbate the...