Federal File

At the same time President Bush was visiting schools in Wisconsin last week to talk up the new federal education law, congressional Democrats staged a press conference to slam his budget request for schools.

Not enough money, they said. If you missed it on May 8, you may have caught the press conference May 2. Not enough money. Or maybe you heard it at a Senate hearing in late April.

And so it goes. As the midterm elections approach, both Republicans and Democrats appear determined to squeeze all the political mileage they can out of the education issue. And with each passing day, the memory of the cuddly January signing ceremony for the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001—when leaders from both parties stood together, smiles all around—seems...