In the May 3 edition of The Washington Post, a reader's comment on Robert J. Samuelson op-ed of April 30:"The 'real Washington'? Lobbyists, lawyers  and publicists"

A commentary in the May 3 issue of The Washington Post by columnist Suzanne Fields: "Engulfed by a rising tide of mediocrity" 'Americans lack knowledge needed for 21st century success'

In the same issue, a report by Denise Lavoie: "Harvard-MIT partnership to offer free online courses on global scale"