Barbara Boxer

I am very enthusiastic about the nominations of Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein for the U.S. Senate. Competing with my feeling of excitement about these nominations is an underlying feeling of disgust for the media’s coverage of the Boxer and Feinstein candidacies. The media is framing gender as the forefront issue of the Senate races, making it appear that Feinstein and Boxer are only running on the gender issue. Certainly we can use more women in political office, but Feinstein and Boxer did not gain their nominations just because they are women. The media should focus upon Boxer’s and Feinstein’s progressive views on creation of jobs, family issues, medical care, military spending, and reproductive choice--not about their gender.

PAUL ROBERT APPLEBY, Van Nuys