The next president will be from one party or the other, and election outcomes are unpredictable. Encourage the opponent who’s easiest to beat and you risk helping the nation elect an incompetent – or worse.

You’re going to have to guess at my choices. Endorsements fit neither the purpose of this column nor the policy of the Press-Citizen.

What we can do is take a look at the candidates’ Web-published positions on education issues.

Why focus on Web pages? Because this is the year of Internet campaigning.

All the candidates have Web sites. It’s a level playing field. Posting an additional position paper costs nothing. And those positions are otherwise difficult to track down.

I’ve made the candidates’ Web sites available from mine – http://www.nicholasjohnson.org  – with a quick click on “What’s New.”

Also available there – take note reporters – is an earlier Washington Post op-ed of mine, “Questions They Never Get Asked.” Ask ‘em.

Am I going to pick my candidates on the basis of education platforms? Absolutely not. For a number of reasons.

• I’m disinclined to pick a president on the basis of any one issue – even education.

• You can’t be sure candidates even read, let alone write, their position papers.

• Positions more often reflect polls and focus groups than personal convictions.

• Many take stands on issues the candidate, if elected, will have little or no power to affect.

• Once in office, changed conditions require changed positions.

So here goes.

• Reform Party. Neither Pat Buchanan nor Donald Trump mentions education.

• Republicans. Gary Bauer says he supports local control and parental choice. Ditto for Steve Forbes. Both support Educational Savings Accounts. Orin Hatch advocates distance education, teacher professional development, and describes a variety of his legislative proposals. Alan Keyes favors prayer in schools and parental choice. He decries our “educrat masters.” McCain also favors localism, including “the power and money to weed out problem teachers and reward good ones.” He supports vouchers.

• Democrats. Bill Bradley’s statement mentions birth-to-five, more teachers, lifetime education, and after-school care.

George W. Bush has an unfair advantage. As the only governor in the pack he has a track record – and the most education material on his Web site. He supports charter schools and vouchers (in all but name).

Are his claimed accomplishments for real? How could I know? Candidates sometimes stretch the truth.

He says he wants “clear, measurable goals. Regular testing to ensure the goals are met. Incentives for success and consequences for failure.” He thinks we should fund “only what works in education,” scientifically evaluated with rigorous research.

He says things like, “The achievement gap between rich and poor is wide and growing wider. Pigment and poverty need not determine performance. That myth is disproved by good schools every day. Excuse-making must end before learning can begin.”

He wants to put more money and educational content into Head Start.

In fact, his single, fixed focus seems to be on closing the “achievement gap.”

And he claims some success. In only four years students passing all parts of the standard statewide test went from 53 to 78 percent. Nearly 90 percent now pass reading.

Historically, minority students did poorly in Texas. Now his African-American fourth graders’ math scores rank first in the nation among their minority peers. Eighth grade African-Americans are No. 1 amongst their peers on the NAEP writing tests.

Would we be willing to shift the funds, and make the sacrifice, to do as much for our low income, special needs, and ESL students? Is Bush too liberal to get elected to our school board?

There’s more to the presidency than education policies. Much more. There’s more to candidates than their Web pages.

But those of us who care about education should delight in its being so high on the national agenda. What an opportunity!

Another opportunity comes next Monday night. Your opportunity.

Your precinct caucus.

“The eyes of Texas are upon you” – along with those of 48 other states and 180 countries. Don’t miss your chance to make history.

Nicholas Johnson is a member of the Iowa City School Board.