Upon starting his new job as the football coach at a small college, the new coach found three letters in his desk drawer that were left by the previous coach, who had been recently fired.

The top envelope read, "If things aren't going well after the first year, open this letter."

At the end of the first year his record was terrible. Not knowing what to do, he opened the first letter; it said, "Blame everything on your predecessor."

He loudly proclaimed to all who would listen that it was not his fault, he had inherited the problems but he was working hard to fix them. That worked pretty well.

By the end of the second year, things had gone from bad to worse. Once again clueless about how to fix the problems, he opened the second letter. It said, "Tell them that the former coach was so bad that you are rebuilding, and you need more time for it to work."

He tried it, and it bought him another year.

By the end of the third year things had turned into a complete disaster. In desperation, the coach opened the third letter. It was brief and to the point. It said, "Write three letters and leave them in the drawer for your successor."

The time as come for President Barack Obama to write three letters.

Jim Dickson

St. Helena Island