| Braun visits Grand Strand, speaks on education MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Democratic presidential candidate Carol Moseley Braun visited the Grand Strand Saturday, but she didn't visit Georgetown Steel to talk about job loss like most of the candidates. Instead, she talked about education. The former ambassador and U.S. Senator from Illinois attended the South Carolina Alliance of Black School Educators' winter meeting at Kingston Plantation. "Education has always been a priority for me," she said between sessions Saturday. "It's such an important issue." Her Saturday stop was her only scheduled South Carolina appearance which also included a drop-in visit at Sandy Grove Missionary Baptist Church. This is her second stop in the state in the past month since she spoke at a Pee Dee church in late December. She said South Carolina's problem with education is the same as that of many other states: Federal education spending is being shoved off on the state level and states can't keep up. "It's just not right," she said. She called the federal No Child Left Behind Act a "huge unfunded mandate" that states will have to pay for. Braun's campaign platform focuses on creating jobs that pay a living wage, establishing universal health care coverage and improving educational opportunities. But she's still lagging in the polls. A December Pew Research Center poll shows U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina leading all candidates for the Feb. 3 South Carolina primary with 16 percent of voters. Retired General Wesley Clark is second, with 11 percent and Braun is near the bottom with 2 percent. She said Saturday she still has a chance. "I'm in it to win it," she said. "I think it's wide open."
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