Education professors are being attacked for the way they prepare people to teach. This criticism is not well founded; teacher preparation programs are being made scapegoats so that the public can avoid facing the hard facts that constitute the core of the problems within the teaching profession. Nowhere has the attack on teacher education been more sustained and yielded more drastic proposals than in the state of New Jersey. Much of this criticism has been motivated by politicians seeking to benefit from the publicity surrounding educational reform. National commission reports have focused nationwide attention on education, and the new Republican leadership in New Jersey has been eager to upstage the reforms set in motion by the previous Democratic administration. A panel established by the new education commissioner to determine the skills needed by beginning teachers was rigged to reflect the administration's position. An instate commission appointed to figure out how the panel's recommendations should be incorporated was also loaded in the commissioner's favor. The state eventually adopted a teacher education program that provided an alternative to the college programs. Even though this is an easier and cheaper way to train teachers, the commissioner may regret his victory. His program will be scrutinized and any evidence of deficiencies will be broadcast vigorously. (GJ)