Sen. Cranston and Ethics Hearings

The front-page photo of Sen. Alan Cranston taking the oath at the Senate Ethics Committee hearing was mesmerizing (“Cranston’s Deeds, Keating’s Money Linked, Panel Told,” Nov. 17). At first it made me sad for all of us; I had always believed the man fought for good causes against big-moneyed interests. His fate in history is now no more honorable than former Washington Mayor Marion Barry’s. Is there a concerted effort to discredit left-of-center politicians?

Or is it that Americans just don’t care any more? Politicians with “vision” always seem to get killed like the Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr., or discredited like Gary Hart. Culturally we’re reduced to giving Grammys to the largest album sellers whether they actually sing on their albums or not. Should we be surprised that young people admire gangsters who drive expensive cars and wear flashy jewelry? What role models are there for people of conscience? Those phony Bible-thumpers on TV?

FREDERICK CLEVELAND

Hollywood