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Candidates Urged to Back STEM Initiatives

Few from either party move beyond general 'competitiveness' theme.

The idea of promoting economic “competitiveness” through education proved to be a hit on Capitol Hill this summer, when lawmakers, in a rare show of bipartisanship, passed legislation that calls for billions of dollars in new spending on school mathematics and science programs.

Now, business leaders and others who backed that proposal are turning their attention to the 2008 presidential race and urging candidates in both parties to make prosperity through education a core piece of their platforms.

So far, most of the Democratic and Republican contenders are sounding competitiveness themes in relatively general terms, while avoiding some of the trickier issues associated with the topic: how much to spend on new and existing federal programs, and whether economic growth and innovation are tied to the academic demands established in the No Child Left...