Sunday letters: Was Confederate flag a gift for Haley?

Gov. Nikki Haley is a Mark Sanford mentee, with one important difference: The gods of politics have given her gifts (recovery from the recession and the Confederate flag) to help her vault over her poor performances, foibles and bad will to achieve national stature. Conversely, Sanford crashed and burned in Argentina.

The flag gave fiscal conservatives an opportunity to appear to lead by consensus and take credit for an accomplishment of national importance without spending a dime.

Now, Republicans are desperately seeking someone who can give voters an alternative to our first female president, Hillary Clinton. Who knows how generous the gods will be?