I would like to mention that this is a state and local issue for which the federal government has little to no say. It doesn't matter what their (McCain and Palin, nor Obama and Biden for that matter) opinions are since they don't control local crime policies. Many people not from the US aren't familiar with the concept of federalism where most matters are actually the responsibility of localities and not the federal government.
There are federal crimes that encompass crimes that cross state lines or are committed on federal property but the vast majority of crimes are matters for state and local laws.
This concept is why so many strict constructionists (those who believe the Constitution should be adhered to as intended and not as a living document) oppose the federal Education Department as well as hot button issues like Roe v. Wade. Strict constructionists feel these are issues to be decided by the states and localities, not the feds. The reason for this is the 10'th Amendment of the Constitution which states that any responsibilities not given to the federal government and not denied to the states is exclusively the domain of the states.
A little known thing is that even if Roe v. Wade were to overturned, not much would change since the decision would revert to the states. I saw a study a while back that said perhaps eight states would pass abortion bans while the rest would leave things the way they are. Most people are told that if the case were to be overturned that abortion would be immediately banned in all 50 states. That's not the case.
That's all I'll ever say on that issue, btw. It is used merely as an illustration of how federalism works.
Education is not even mentioned in the Constitution, which is why so many strict constructionists believe the federal government should butt out of an exclusively state issue.
