Republican Party and McCain, Bush
Brian O’Leary Bennett has stated in plain language how so many of us in the Republican Party have felt (“Knight Initiative Has Another Agenda,” Commentary, Feb. 14). We have watched our party move to make government a social watchdog that weeds out anyone who is different. We once were a party that tried to keep government out of our private lives.
If today’s Republican leaders could, they would probably return to enslavement of blacks, child labor forces and burning of witches. I sometimes wonder just whose Bible they are reading.
CAROL DENNEY HOWARD
Huntington Beach
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Re “Democratic Influence in Primary Worries Bush,” Feb. 14:
It is odd that George W. Bush has voiced concern over the ability of Democrats and independents to influence the outcome of the GOP nomination, when in fact he has continually boasted the belief that, if elected, he would be a compassionate conservative who would unite and not divide. I guess he only meant that if the Democrats and independents were uniting around him and not John McCain.
If these voters choose McCain, as they appear to be doing, then I guess what Bush is saying is that all bets are off. Funny how things change in the Bush camp when the going gets tough. Here is a political riddle. How many contradictions does it take to win an election? Answer: As many as the voters will allow.
JEREMY WATERS
Hemet
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Re “McCain Has 2 Standards on Drug Abuse,” by Stanton Peele, Commentary, Feb. 14: It’s about time that The Times has said something about McCain and his forked tongue. Now we hear about his wife’s drug use and the special treatment she received.
Has anyone brought up the fact that McCain serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and today our armed forces are in such disarray? Our service personnel are leaving the service of their country in great numbers, because they are not paid a decent wage and there is not good housing for their families. Today, 12,000 service personnel are receiving food stamps.
This is a disgrace and McCain should have been trying to do something about this. Instead, all we hear is that he is a Vietnam veteran who was held prisoner for five years and that he refused to be released sooner. Am I the only one to see that something is very wrong here?
MARY EISENHAUER
Northridge
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Peele’s article seems to have come straight from Bush’s political flacks--short on specifics, long on rhetoric and replete with distortions designed to smear the McCains and serve Bush.
Conveniently ignored are three facts that should be well known. Prescribed drug use is the most common form of drug abuse in the U.S., far outweighing abuse of street drugs. First-time drug offenders are rarely ever prosecuted and are usually diverted from the criminal process. Substance abuse touches practically all American families at one time or another.
Finally, the dichotomy of the drug offender as criminal or victim is a patently false one, a gross oversimplification of one of our society’s most baffling and intractable issues. The Times would better serve its readership by presenting a well-researched and balanced article about Cindy McCain so that readers can judge for themselves. At this juncture, I cannot help but wonder what skeletons are rattling around in Bush’s family closet.
STEPHEN HUBERT
Camarillo
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The appeal for me of McCain, as I have watched him for the past few years on political shows, is that 1) he is able to believe in and take a position on an issue that may differ from the prevailing wisdom of his party, and 2) his reasoning on an issue has credibility because of his “real life” experiences as a prisoner of war.
I know there are some who don’t think he is a real conservative, but the answers to many issues lie somewhere in the gray area between the extremes, and I want someone who can find these answers.
MICHAEL CARR
Pasadena
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Thomas Doherty (Commentary, Feb. 11) notes that some malign Sen. McCain, charging that his 5 1/2 years in a North Vietnamese prison diminished his leadership capabilities.
In light of such misguided criticisms, we should remember other political leaders who spent time in prison: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Czech poet and playwright Vaclav Havel and Nelson Mandela. Certainly these three leaders are some of the more visionary of the late 20th century. Did their time in prison cripple them or build their character? I think the latter, as is the case with McCain.
DAN CALDWELL
Professor, Political Science
Pepperdine University, Malibu
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Re “He Might Be Just Like Dad--and Lose,” by Doug Gamble, Commentary, Feb. 10: I wonder if Bush has read the Aesop’s fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” If he hasn’t, he ought to.
GABRIELLE MICHONSKI
Monrovia