This paper examines the burden of vouchers to be all things to all constituencies. Proponents and opponents envision vouchers as accomplishing many objectives. To some, vouchers represent an educational reform that brings change to public schools and saves children from monopolistic bureaucrats. To others, they signify a threat to the very foundations of democratic schools. Vouchers also symbolize a political strategy that appeals to odd bedfellows, both conservative and liberal. Friedman's original notion of vouchers construed them as an economic solution, a fundamental market technique to introduce competition and increase quality. Finally, vouchers create an illusion of a quick and easy public policy for school reform. Persistent controversy surrounding vouchers in the U.S. and the difficulty of measuring their impact in policy research stem, in part, from these multiple roles that vouchers play in the minds of adherents and adversaries. Research data, court rulings, media reports, and proposed legislation are used to consider the many ways in which vouchers have evolved into this hydra of public policy. Further, the paper will identify limitations for the usefulness of vouchers in the future of U.S. public education.