Mixed Messages From GOP Convention

“A senator can be wrong for 20 years without consequence to the nation,” said Vice President Dick Cheney (Sept. 2). “But a president

Thanks, Dick, I think you’ve said enough. Come Nov. 2, you and President Bush need to go back to the private sector and let the country see if we can get this right for a change.

Jesse Albert

Los Angeles

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Re Cheney’s speech: In my view, it takes colossal chutzpah for a man who “had other priorities” to praise a military to which he never belonged, but from which he has parlayed a fortune in lobbying for reelection. He has risked nothing but benefited handsomely from his position in a government that his party would like to downsize, excepting the quiet award of no-bid contracts to his friends -- a bill that we middle-class taxpayers will continue to pay for some time. What sane voter would want to perpetuate the Bush/Cheney oil oligarchy for “four more years”?

James A. Zant

La Habra

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I question your placement of the GOP convention coverage on the bottom of the front page following the speeches by Vice President Cheney and Sen. Zell Miller (a Democrat). To top it off, you run a negative story on President Bush. You seem to miss no opportunity to help your favorite candidate, John Kerry.

Karl Simon

Manhattan Beach

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After listening to Miller, Cheney and others Wednesday night unleashing their bizarre fantasy portrayals of Democratic nominee Kerry, I can only say that the GOP never does let truth get in the way of a campaign speech.

Robert E. Lee Jr.

Costa Mesa

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God bless Zell Miller! He spoke for me. As a mother and grandmother, I feel protecting our family is more important than party. Even though I live in the shadow of the “People’s Republic of Hollywood” I feel energized today to fight for our president, who is fighting to keep us safe. People have forgotten 9/11. I want to go after them on their turf, not ours.

Angela Parente

Woodland Hills

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Now that Ken Adelman has set me straight on what a great guy Cheney is (“Beneath Cheney’s Image, a Nice Guy,” Commentary, Sept. 1), should I sleep better tonight?

What good are the strengths of Cheney’s convictions, when the end result is preemptive war, the deaths of thousands of innocent people, the stealing of another country’s wealth, the rape of our natural resources and the increased wealth of his good buddies at Halliburton? Who gives a damn whether he’s a nice guy or not?

Charlie Fox

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Re activists infiltrating the convention floor, Sept. 2: What a joke; Bush and company are the only ones that can keep us safe from terrorists. Right, these guys couldn’t even secure their own convention floor despite surrounding it with hundreds of armed guards. Next.

Marion Lewish

San Diego

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I’m currently traveling in the U.K. It is interesting to see our political process analyzed from another perspective. The arrogance of the Bush administration and the effect it has had on our image abroad should be a major issue in this election. Instead, it is the severity of Kerry’s wounds that draws the most attention from our media and the politically conservative talking heads.

Patrick Mickle

San Juan Capistrano

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What have you done with the real Michael Ramirez/conservative/fundamentalist/cartoonist for The Times? The convention cartoons in Wednesday’s paper are much too close to realism and the current political climate than the real Ramirez would contribute.

Jim and Carol Howard

Huntington Beach

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On Monday, Bush said of the war on terrorism: “I don’t think we can win it.” On Tuesday, he said “we will win” the war on terror. Who’s flip-flopping now, Mr. President?

Michael Richards

Calabasas