Assessing the Candidates

Stewart Udall’s call for a wide-open Democratic convention (“Democrats’ ‘Pilots’ Must Chart Course,” Op-Ed Page, March 24) provoked this thought:

Presidential elections in this century show the Republicans can win with mediocre candidates, the Democrats cannot.

Besides the Watergate-skewed 1976 election, the Democratic Party has won only by nominating candidates who could stir the passions of Democrats, capture them, make them cry and laugh and feel every emotion in between.

Since Robert Kennedy, Democrats haven’t come close to loving any of their presidential candidates. We Democrats deserve to, even if it takes acknowledging the announced candidates don’t fit the bill.

Contrary to Democratic Party Chairman Paul Kirk’s “unite-at-any-cost” philosophy, a little divisiveness that produces a candidate who captures Democrats’ souls is far better than marching lock-step to another Kirk-engineered defeat.

PAUL DE MARCO

Los Angeles