New Pew Study and America's Priorities

Last week, the Pew Research Center, an independent opinion research group, released a new report detailing major national opinion trends heading into the 2008 election season. Naturally, I was very pleased to find that education remains within the overall top four issues of importance to voters, along with the economy, Iraq, and healthcare. In fact, 75% of registered voters reported that education was "very important" to their vote.

I also find it interesting to compare how Republican, Democrat and independent voters differed in voting priorities, and as the chart below shows, they have more in common than not. The common perception might be that education is a Democratic issue, but the truth is that both major parties rank education highly - and above issues like taxes, jobs, and energy.


To me, these findings are good news. Not only do they suggest that Americans have more priorities in common than the pundits might have you believe, but they also confirm what the voters all over the country have been telling me- that America wants more talk about education!


The candidate that steps forward and answers this call for action will also be taking steps to ensure that American students are better prepared to address other issues that may confront our nation in the future. It's a win-win situation - so what are the candidates waiting for?