Conspicuously absent from the debate over New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants are both of New York's senators, Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Spitzer has argued that because there are so many illegal immigrants living in New York (as many as one million, by some estimates), that providing licenses to them will cut down of the number of unlicensed - and uninsured - motorists on our roadways.

Security would be enhanced, Spitzer says, by having information on more people entered into government databases.

Critics say a driver's license may help people (including terrorists) obtain other documents and gain access to security-sensitive places they are now unable to get close to.

Other say that people living in the country illegally simply shouldn't be given the privilege of obtaining a driver's license.

Analysts say the issue is just too controversial and that neither senator wants to risk people by coming out for or against the plan.

But leadership often demands tough choices be made, and we expect our elected representatives to not only join the conversation, but take a stand and explain their reasoning.

That way, we will be better able to decide whether they are looking out for our best interests and whether we want them to continue to represent us.

So, whether Schumer and Clinton are trying to avoid offending the enormous number of New Yorkers (and potential voters) who disagree with Spitzer's plan, or whether they are trying to distance themselves from a fellow Democrat who is fast sinking in popularity, it's the public who suffers.

New Yorkers can only wonder where their senators fall on this issue, because Schumer and Clinton aren't talking.