Of all the cheap shots leveled against Gov. Linda Lingle in the current Furlough Fridays disaster, one of the meanest was the accusation that Lingle could not appreciate the problems because she does not have children.

Lingle took the bait, responding to the question posed by a TV reporter that she was “;aunty”; to scores of kids and besides, what does that have to do with anything, anyway?

Of course parents understand why shutting down public schools twice a month is endangering their children. Parents just know it, just like they can spot uncompleted homework, unwashed hands or hair-pulling in the back seat.

Politicians are not without their own senses that alert them to “;a disturbance in the force.”;

So it was fascinating to see the last two of the big three (likely) running for governor, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Lt. Gov. James “;Duke”; Aiona wade into the furlough pond.

Former Rep. Neil Abercrombie was fuming about Furlough Fridays last October when he leveraged his Washington contacts to get U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to show his concern about the Hawaii educational crisis. “;We need to act with immediacy and cannot tolerate the loss of another school day,”; Abercrombie said five months ago.

Last week, after the sit-in parents issued their own plan for ending the school furlough days, Hannemann popped up. His views had been missing, because his campaign said Hannemann wasn't yet an official candidate for governor.

Obviously Hannemann's political instincts told him that if regular parents are willing to stage a one-week sit-in of the Governor's Office and risk arrest to dramatize how much the furloughs are hurting their children, he should start talking.

“;I am certainly up to the challenge given my hands-on experience in dealing with collective bargaining as mayor,”; Hannemann said, without taking a position in the furlough debate.

Finally Republican Aiona also came up with a position: He was both for and against the parent's plan.

When he met with the parents, Aiona said the plan was a great compromise. “;Parents, teachers and the state would each give something to achieve a comprehensive solution,”; Aiona said. But then the parents group, Hawaii Education Matters, endorsed a different plan, which Aiona said he couldn't support because it leaves the furlough situation “;unresolved and incomplete.”;

There does not appear to be any solution to the furlough dilemma, meaning furloughs will continue to define both Hawaii's schools and the ensuing race for governor.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics every Wednesday. Reach him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).