In state after state, the candidates either ignore a stunning set of social changes, or offer tired solutions to problems that are already being solved. The family tragedies that experts predicted would be legion haven't appeared. Child abuse and poverty are down. So are referrals to foster homes and births to teenage moms.
Marriage is up.
In spite of the success, no one suggests the job is done. In states with the best track records, most of those who remain on public assistance are the hardest cases, plagued with drug, alcohol or mental problems that make holding a job a dubious proposition. Some states have failed to enact effective reform programs. Others are hampered by outdated federal regulations. Yet rather than find ways to expand welfare reform's success while protecting the nation's most vulnerable new workers, the two campaigns don't talk about the issue much.