Clinton Trip, Moscow Summit

In response to “Competing With Bobbitts and Ice Skaters, Summit Falls Short,” news analysis by Thomas Rosenstiel, Jan. 15:

The headline that the “summit fell short,” that there were no “enduring images that would capture a nation” is far from the truth, as witnessed via television coverage, and by your own Jan. 16 news analysis by Paul Richter and Doyle McManus, which states “ . . . many of those scenes made strong images back home . . . Clinton consorting with Havel, hero of democracy and culture” and “in the Kremlin,” etc.

On television, we witnessed the signing of a new agreement removing nuclear missiles from the Ukraine; President Clinton walking through a historic Jewish cemetery (a far cry from Bitburg); we saw him lighting a candle for his mother in a recently refurbished centuries-old Moscow church which the communists had turned into a public toilet (a photo you published, Jan. 14, without noting the historical context). And we saw meetings, an endless round of purposeful meetings with leaders of new and old countries, hour after hour, all happening immediately following the burial of President Clinton’s mother, which the press seems to have already forgotten.

BARRY GREENFIELD

West Hollywood

Rosenstiel complains that Clinton’s aides don’t have the media savvy that Ronald Reagan’s did to create enduring images. That’s OK. I like what Clinton is doing. And I could have done without some of the enduring images from the Reagan years like the Iran-Contra hearings; the HUD scandal; and a conveniently forgetful ex-President Reagan in a witness box.

BRENDAN JAMES O’BRIEN

Santa Monica

I was born a Republican, but now have begun to have an open mind about politics and the future of our beloved United States. So many political figures seem to be bigoted, narrow-minded and even cruel. This was very apparent during the death and funeral of President Clinton’s mother.

Our President’s heart must have been heavier than usual, losing his beloved mother and facing the burden of the summit in Russia. But he went on with his duties with a stoical smile that endeared him to almost everyone. With the admirable job he did under stressful conditions, I think Clinton deserves high marks for his brilliant diplomatic astuteness.

MILDRED E. KORDENAT

Laguna Beach

In the town hall meeting in Moscow (Jan. 15), President Clinton stated that he would not trade places with President Boris Yeltsin. I wish President Clinton every success as our chief executive, but he will probably not be another Washington or Lincoln.

Like Washington, Yeltsin is the first president. Like Lincoln, Yeltsin for an awesome moment embodied “government by the people” as he stared down the fascists during the coup attempt.

President Yeltsin will be a watchword for democracy as long as it exists.

CHARLES S. BUNNELL

Northridge

So, President Clinton has set Russia on the road to democracy. Please, why not invite a Russian to this country to deal with our problems. What about shelter for the homeless? What about jobs for the millions out of work?

ELEANOR POST

Azusa

I was reading my morning Times and the main stories were on President Clinton’s recent successes in the former Soviet Union and Middle East. It appears to me that the President has done much in his first full year in office. He not only had Ukraine give up its nuclear arsenal (which is pointed at our country) but was also able to persuade Syria to commit to a peace treaty with Israel (Jan. 17). Last year, he passed the national budget in record time and got the health care debate off to a good start, as well as many other significant accomplishments. But back in Washington, waiting for our President to return from a historic trip, is Republican leader Bob Dole.

I, for one, do not care if Bill and Hillary Clinton had investments in a failed thrift. George Bush’s son was a director of the failed Silverado Savings and Loan and nobody really cared about that. Furthermore, in the past 12 years, between the Reagan and Bush administrations, at least a dozen investigations took place, which included the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal. And what happened to those presidents? Nothing.

I care primarily about our national leaders’ job performance, and if our President is competent enough to move our country out of this economic depression and keep me out of a war, then he has my support. Let the President govern and get our nation back on its feet, and Bob Dole, start being a constructive political leader.

RICHARD HAMEL

Orange