Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/and-the-winner-is-.-.-./5020868/
This issue of Exchange is slated to arrive in your mailbox during election week. So, sitting at a laptop in early October, I’m struck that all of you �" literally every person reading this month’s column �" already knows the answer to the most important political question of the season . . . and I don’t.Who won the Presidential election, whether the Congress remains divided into a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, as well as a host of important state election outcomes will determine what issues our country prioritizes and how we tackle the challenges ahead.
While the outcomes of the elections are important, one of the most striking things about this campaign season is the almost complete absence of child care and early learning as a key issue. Into October, the Obama and Romney campaigns paid hardly any attention to child care, focusing instead on job creation and the economy. No candidate called attention to the importance of early childhood education throughout the months-long primary struggle on the Republican side. At the Democratic Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, it just wasn’t a center ring subject. San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro made a short plug for Pre-K, and President Obama asked ...