Not quite blue, but not all red — are we purple, people? — Colorado is now considered a state that could go for either a Republican or a Democrat in this fall’s presidential election, which means that we’re getting an up-close taste of some of the candidates as they court us for our votes. On Tuesday, John McCain was at the University of Denver to discuss arms issues, calling for talks with China to negotiate a temporary halt to production of nuclear weapons-grade material and with Russia on a new treaty to destroy more nuclear weapons. Click here for The Gazette’s coverage of the event.

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at Denver University on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, in Denver, Colo. During his speech McCain faulted both Republicans and Democrats on their efforts to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

But perhaps hitting on an issue closer to the hearts of Pikes Peak parents was Barack Obama’s visit yesterday to the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton, where he talked about education.

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks to students and invited guests during a town hall meeting in Thornton, Colo., Wednesday, May 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

In his speech, he offered to fix the “broken promises” of the No Child Left Behind law if elected president, and offered concrete examples of his educational policies: a $4,000 tax credit to cover tuition at typical public colleges and making community college free (in exchange for a stint teaching, volunteering or in the Peace Corp), revamping standardized tests so test prep doesn’t consume curriculum, encouraging professionals to teach in struggling schools and rewarding good teachers with good pay. Check out the entire article in today’s Gazette by clicking here.

As a parent, each of the candidate’s educational platforms are probably very important to you, yet they are rarely outlined in the media in the detail we require. Rather than listening to the sound bites — even if they are LOCAL sound bites — there are better resources where you can check out the candidates educational thoughts. Open Education ran down the democratic and republican candidate’s positions on their blog last fall. Or peruse the candidate’s individual Web sites:

John McCain on education

Hillary Clinton on education

Barack Obama on education

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