If you think the Swift Boat Veterans campaign was the height of political discourse, you're going to love the way the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI) responds to a recent bit of education research.

PRI has sent out an e-mail about the comparison of NAEP scores released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Education (ED).  The comparison showed public school students doing as well as private school students when background characteristics were taken into account. But, lest the facts convince some journalist that public schools are actually doing a good job, the PRI e-mail provides contact information for a researcher who will obligingly point out the study's "methodological flaws."

The kicker is that the contact on the e-mail is Creative Response Concepts, one of the PR firms behind the Swift Boat Veterans (and also behind the 65% solution).

All this makes AFT president Ed McElroy seem prescient.  Last week he warned convention delegates about "bogus 'research,' news stories, books and television shows that take potshots at public schools...."  And he noted in an earlier statement that Education Secretary Margaret Spellings was "nowhere to be seen" when ED released the public-private comparison but was "front and center" a few days later at "a press conference announcing legislation to provide federal dollars for private school vouchers."

There seems to be no limit to what the administration will do in its latest push for school vouchers, which are not supported by rigorous, independent research and have been rejected by voters again and again.  ED dragged its heels and sought to minimize tax-funded research that blew up the core argument for vouchers.  When that tactic backfired, officials simply ignored the research and continued to push for vouchers, without even waiting until the publicity about the public-private comparison had faded. And, as if that's not cynical enough, one of the administration's favorite anti-public school think tanks -- working independently, of course -- is teaming up with one of the administration's favorite PR firms to tout an "expert" who will condemn the research.

Wouldn't it have been smarter to accept the research findings, dump the voucher initiative, and focus greater attention and resources on the public schools that serve 9 out of 10 students in this country?