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I think Obama's reluctance to debate, especially in a town-hall context, stems from his not wanting to think on his feet, something he doesn't seem to do particularly well, with his frequent stammering and "wait a minute" efforts to clarify himself [Aug. 18]. When you can't be straight with people about what you really want to do, you get stuck trying to think fast about what you can say that will placate the large majority of people and not tick off your base. In Obama's case, that seems to present a real challenge. Dan Burns, SACRAMENTO, CALIF.

Aiding Africa

In your article "Pain Amid Plenty," you write that this year the U.S. will give more than $800 million to Ethiopia: $460 million for food, $350 million for HIV/AIDS treatment and $7 million for agricultural development [Aug. 18]. To put that amount of money in perspective, let's take a look at what we are currently spending on the war in Iraq: $100 billion a year, or $8 billion a month, which is $275 million a day. So we spend the equivalent of our entire foreign aid to Ethiopia for one year in less than three days in Iraq. What does this say about our priorities? Bill Cosgriff, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

Florida Students Shine

Despite TIME's doom-and-gloom report, more Florida students are performing at or above grade level than ever before [July 10]. Education Week's "Quality Counts" report ranked Florida's public-education system among the top 15 in the nation and seventh overall in K-12 student achievement. Florida was one of only four states to improve significantly in both fourth- and eighth-grade reading. More than one-fifth of Florida's public high school graduates passed an Advanced Placement exam, ranking Florida fourth in the nation. Florida also leads every other state in the number of African American and Hispanic students passing AP exams and has eliminated the Hispanic student-achievement gap. Eric J. Smith, Florida Commissioner of Education, TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

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