Short takes: Still pushing early learning

As governor, Democrat Tim Kaine was an advocate of early childhood education. As Sen. Kaine, he joined eight of his U.S. Senate colleagues this week to introduce a bill to expand high-quality early learning programs for children from birth to age 5.

The Strong Start for America’s Children Act would support a commendable goal President Obama pushed in his State of the Union address this year, and one former first lady Laura Bush touted in her appearance this week at Roanoke’s Taubman Museum: Make dramatic gains in the accessibility and quality of early childhood education.

The topic likely won’t be a conversation-changer for Democrats caught in the backlash over the rocky start to health insurance enrollment under Obamacare. But early-learning has bipartisan appeal; the legislation shouldn’t get lost in the uproar.

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