Keep politics out of education, definitely. If more people were interested in not simply dropping their children off at daycare, then I'd agree with your position completely. Apathy is a big problem here. Social needs are another: I know someone who homeschooled both of her kids until recently, when her teenage son asked to be put in public school so that he could spend more time with his friends. If people are going to choose the state-run option, then it should still be available, but it needs to be fixed (torn down and re-built would more appropriate at this point).

Maybe I'm grasping at straws; I've always been a loner, so homeschooling worked just fine for me.