One of the strengths of our

constitutional system of federalism is that the states

can often serve as laboratories for new ideas which

eventually become national initiatives.

We have seen this over and

over.

The vote for women, the

minimum wage, even social security and universal health

insurance - all these were ideas which were tried

out in one state or the other and then adopted at the

federal level.

Today, the major candidates

for president have discovered another "new"

idea which was pioneered by an experiment in one of the

states.

That new idea is pre-school

education - and it was first implemented right here

in Georgia by Gov. Zell Miller, thanks to the success of

the Georgia Lottery.

(Since the major

beneficiaries of this head start which 4-year-olds

receive in local pre-kindergarten programs have been the

often disadvantaged kids of poor and near-poor families,

many straight-laced, middle-class folks think it is

appropriate that the Georgia efforts have been funded by

a gambling operation which preys so heavily upon those

very families.)

However it was funded,

though, the idea has been proven to be the right one for

preparing 4-year-old students to enter kindergarten and

giving them a strong foothold on the educational ladder

for first grade and beyond.

And, it is good to see the

major candidates for president begin discussing the need

for such an effort on the national level.

Now, as a recent editorial

in USA Today pointed out, "not so long ago, there

was a better chance of seeing pigs fly than hearing

presidential candidates debate pre-school."

"Well, pigs are flying

this year," the editorial continues, "(because)

both parties' frontrunners are talking about non-voters

barely out of diapers."

(That editorial also gives

credit where credit is due and points out that

"Georgia faced up to its responsibilities (and) led

the way.")

Nationally, there are more

than 4 million pre-schoolers in the several states in our

union, so Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President

Albert Gore are not talking about a small financial

investment.

(As is usually the case,

Republican Bush is promoting a much stingier version of

the effort - with a price tag much lower than the

$50 billion Democrat Gore has earmarked; but, even he is

suggesting changes in current anti-poverty programming

which would end up being a multi-million dollar effort.)

With both major current

frontrunners talking about this effort, it is likely that

the topic of pre-school will soon end up on some

president's agenda.

However, it will still be

years before a national pre-school program can be begun

- and then they will be pilots which must be

evaluated before a national effort really begins.

And, that means that many

of those pre-schoolers who could benefit now from such a

program in their local school will still miss out on the

opportunity offered in such an endeavor.

Since the professional

analysts in all the state departments of education across

the country have seen the same data about early brain

development - and most researchers now agree that a

child's brain reaches 90 percent of its adult size by age

3 - it is a shame that there are not more state

political leaders with the foresight of former Gov.

Miller and others here in Georgia who took the lead in

establishing a statewide pre-kindergarten program.

In years gone by, Georgia

has not always been such a forward-looking leader in

terms of new public programs to social or community

development.

(For instance, Georgia did

not officially adopt the U.S. constitutional amendment

giving women the right to vote until just a few years ago

when it was little more than a symbolic act anyway!)

But, when our state does

something right, it is nice to see it recognized by

others.

Let's just hope our leaders

will continue to look ahead, consider other experimental

ideas to improve the quality of life, and not allow their

good intentions to be black-balled by all those negative,

Neanderthal nay-sayers out there.

[Lee N. Howell is an

award-winning writer who has been observing and

commenting upon politics and society in the Southern

Crescent, the state, and nation for more than a quarter

of a century.]