Who's that you're sleeping with?

Suppose you're a card-carrying conservative who would have a hard time deciding which evil is greater - Obamacare or Common Core.

And suppose you're in the midst of beautiful deep sleep dreams. Maybe you've just won the Powerball, or better, maybe Fox News has just revealed Hillary Clinton's darkest secret.

With a happy sigh and a big grin, you roll over and put your arm over your spouse, slumbering peacefully right next to you. Spooning was never sweeter.

A sound rustles you from perfect bliss and in dawn's early light, you see something isn't right. That's not your partner lying there curled up with you. It's the teachers' union.

In the category of Strange Bedfellows, the sheets have been yanked off one of the most unlikely pairings since peas and corn were caught cohabitating. Tea Party conservatives and their liberal counterparts in state and national teachers unions have gathered 'round the same campfire, positively negative together toward testing requirements that go along with Common Core.

On the conservative side, the goal of holding students and educators to higher standards has been undermined by the perceived presence of federal fingerprints on Common Core and its tests. On the liberal side, the goal of holding students and educators to higher standards has been undermined by a determination not to let a test suggest which teachers should get raises and which should seek employment elsewhere.

In Idaho, hardly a whisper of protest has been uttered. But in Oregon, Maine, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and New York - hardly cradles of American conservativism - tens of thousands of students are refusing to sit for their states' versions of the exam. In our view, this shows unions asserting their influence, although Glenn Beck might beg to differ.

California either has it right or is just delaying the inevitable. Its schools aren't being held accountable for test results this year, and guess what? There have been no reports of significant opt-outs in the Golden Gate state. Instead, everyone is taking the test and a deep breath, determined to let common sense and Common Core run their course, then do plenty of assessing and, as needed, adjusting.

Acknowledging that there is no such thing as a perfect student, teacher or standardized test, we're proud that Idaho has resisted influences from the far right and the far left so Idaho Core Standards can help raise the public education bar. This is a form of child support upon which we should all eventually be able to agree.