The editors of the News & Observer give a half-hearted endorsement to North Carolina’s application for Race to the Top dollars from the federal government. The editorial concludes, “Certainly the state’s track record in recent years of focusing on improving its public schools – improvements that surely were called for – ought to help. All states are in need. North Carolina has a good plan and a good case.”

Of course, part of the case comes down to the willingness of federal education officials to participate in the state’s game of make-believe education reform.