SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:30 P.M. ET:

AN OUTLIER, WE HOPE – A new Fox Dynamics poll, in contrast to most of the other polls we've seen in the last week, has President Obama up 46-39 over Mitt Romney.  It looks like an outlier to us.  We haven't seen Romney in the 30s in any other recent poll.  The survey is taken among "randomly chosen" registered voters, which seems like a pretty loose methodology.  We'll watch other polls to see how they trend.

EDUCATION CRISIS SOLVED – The state of Florida, in its infinite wisdom, has now addressed its latest education crisis – the fact that preliminary results showed that only a third of students would pass this year's standard state writing test.  The Florida Board of Education did what any good nanny state panel would do, it just lowered the passing grade.  As Staples says, "That was easy." 

GOOD NEWS ABOUT EDUCATION – It's rare, but we like to find it.  It is announced that the new head of the College Board is David Coleman, who has been instrumental in developing a common core curriculum going into use in nearly all 50 states.  Although we favor state control over education, and believe that curricula can intelligently vary from locale to locale, beginning with a rich common core is a good place to start.  It stresses the reality that we have a common language and an American culture that every student should master.

NO HOME STATE ADVANTAGE – Mitt Romney's staff has just about given up on Massachusetts, where Romney served as governor.  The staff can't be faulted on this.  While the state will periodically elect Republicans to high office, as it did in electing Scott Brown to the Senate, it is solidly and militantly Democratic these days in presidential races.  Add to that the fact that Obama is a liberal icon, and a racial symbol, and Romney hasn't got much of a chance at home.  The loss will be made up elsewhere.

May 16, 2012