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As your Jan. 17 front-page article noted, voters of all stripes are singing the blues because they're rapidly losing faith in President Barack Obama. Opinion polls, blogs and letters to the editor all reflect a growing disenchantment with him and a belief that the country is on the wrong track. It's difficult to imagine a president who has disappointed so many people in such a short time in office. After a first-rate political campaign, the political phenom is looking more and more like a one-termer.
South Carolina once again is challenged to transform itself to meet new realities. However, South Carolina needs far more students earning four-year degrees to meet that challenge — certainly not fewer.
You may have read recently about the dust-up over state unemployment benefits, and I thought it was worth taking a minute to let you know why we're making noise about this issue, and why it's important you do the same.
I don't think the author of Tuesday's editorial, "S.C. exports guns," is well enough informed on the subject matter, which would explain such a lopsided editorial. Background checks are required for purchases on guns sold at gun shows -- by licensed dealers only. Currently, anyone can rent a table at a gun show within the state and sell guns privately, no different from buying one from your neighbor -- no background check required, no laws broken.
U.S. public health officials are moving full-speed ahead with their national campaign to promote and publicize the flu shot. They have now designated Dec. 8-14 as "National Influenza Vaccination Week" to "foster greater use of flu vaccine through the months of November, December and beyond."
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings created quite a media event when she came to South Carolina on Oct. 28 to decry our latest national disgrace: The inability of public schools to graduate more students. Her remarks garnered front-page headlines in state newspapers, including the Oct. 29 Herald. The Herald editorial staff was so impressed, they dedicated a supportive editorial to the cause of dropout reduction on Nov. 7.