Hot Topic, No Consensus

Vouchers are likely to be a hot topic in next year's presidential race, and both parties are torn. Democrats are being pulled by two key constituencies: racial minorities, who disproportionately back vouchers, and teacher unions, which oppose them as a threat to public education--and to their jobs. Meanwhile, the G.O.P.'s big tent holds both conservative voucher backers and moderates worried about their effect on public schools. Here's what three likely candidates are saying:

--GEORGE W. BUSH
"[P]arents from all walks of life are hungry for a better education for their children... I know there's a huge debate raging, but we must not trap students in low-performing schools. It is time to see if it works: Let's try a pilot voucher program."

--ELIZABETH DOLE
"The No. 1 priority of any education reform must be...to restore our public schools to greatness. But where schools are unsafe and a child is trapped in a failing school, the state should provide...[a voucher] to help pay for education elsewhere."

--AL GORE
"Diverting tax dollars from public schools to support tuition for some children at private schools would drain the funds we need [for] an ambitious program of...reform that would allow us to have world-class schools in the 21st century."