Rep. Paul isn't my Representative (he is from Surfside, TX, & I'm in Ft. Smith, AR...my Rep. is John Boozman, who is a neocon). Just like you, I wish that a Ron Paul-like candidate would be elected in my district.
As for federal President Bush's efforts in education are concerned, they are flat-out unconstitutional (whatever happened to the GOP that wanted to eliminate the Dept. of Education???). Here's what James Madison had to say as a member of the house on february 7, 1792:
"If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, & are the sole & supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county, & parish, & pay them out of their public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may assume the provision for the poor; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads; in short, every thing, from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police, would be thrown under the power of Congress...".
So much for "No Child Left Behind"--I'd say, along w/ James Madison, that it's time to leave federal involvement in education behind! We should support (@ the FEDERAL level):
--the seperation of SCHOOL & state;
--the seperation of WELFARE & state;
--the seperation of TRANSPORTATION & state;
--the seperation of CRIMINAL LAW ENFORCEMENT & state (support your LOCAL police!), etc., etc., etc.!
The above issues are left to the states or the people to decide, as the 10th Amendment requires (y'all remember that one, right?).
Thank you, you'll get no disagreement from me. I'd like to see the government out of the education business, but I did feel W's approach was the best attempt to move from a purely "throw money at it" to more "results via testing".