Throughout the presidential campaign, the leading Democrats have been speaking from a similar script on education--until this month, when U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois suggested that he could be persuaded to support private school vouchers. "If there was any argument for vouchers, it was "Let's see if the experiment works"," Sen. Obama told the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Feb. 13. "And if it does, whatever my preconception, you do what's best for kids." The statement diverges from the stance of U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who rejected any private-school-choice proposals in her interview with the same editors the next day. Although Sen. Obama's campaign has since downplayed his voucher comments, the exchange suggests that the two remaining Democratic contenders have subtle but important differences in their approaches to federal education policy, whether the topic is expanding school choice, rewriting the No Child Left Behind Act, or experimenting with new forms of teacher pay. The differences may not appear big to the typical voter, but they reflect the experiences of two candidates who have both been involved in education improvement efforts during their careers.