Candidates Offer Education Platitudes

* As I listened to the second debate on Wednesday night and heard George W. Bush’s simplistic platitudes like “we won’t leave any child behind” and Al Gore’s “accountability for students and teachers,” I was astounded at what a superficial understanding these “educated” men have of the work I do. There is no two-minute sound-bite answer to the myriad of educational issues facing our communities--so don’t give one!

If the presidential candidates had to spend a week teaching in an urban classroom as a prerequisite for holding office, what a different country this would be.

ALICE BUBMAN

Los Angeles

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* Why is it that Gore has vowed to make education his highest priority when constitutionally speaking the federal government has no authority in the matter (states do)? Shouldn’t his agenda more closely reflect the charge with which an American president is entrusted?

TOM HOUG

South Pasadena

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* The second debate is over, and people seem afraid to state the obvious. Should Bush be elected president, he will undoubtedly be the least informed, most shallow and, plainly stated, dumbest man to have gained the White House in over a hundred years. No wonder Bush has not come out strongly in favor of testing teachers--he is afraid that someone will ask him to take a spelling, geography, history or math test himself. Fuzzy math, indeed--the only thing fuzzy here is his mind!

CRAIG SVONKIN

Riverside

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* Although your other coverage of the debate was fairly evenhanded, why in the world didn’t you include at least one Democrat in your “informed Californians” panel (Oct. 12)--especially in a state where Gore supporters far outnumber his opponents? Don’t look now but your bias is showing!

BONNIE COMPTON HANSON

Santa Ana

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* Am I alone in noting what seems to me a decided lack of impartiality on the part of Jim Lehrer? In both debates, I felt he repeatedly allowed Bush extra explanatory segments that he denied to Gore. And Wednesday night, he ended the debate with a question that clearly accused one candidate for his failings but did not subsequently address similar voter concerns about Bush. It was a fair question, but warranted a question-in-kind back at Bush. And it certainly did not belong at the end, where it could only leave the impression that in the final analysis this issue is the major one to be decided upon.

JENNIFER FRIEDMAN

Los Angeles

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* I’ve figured it out now. When Bush makes mistakes, they’re mistakes. When Gore makes mistakes, they’re lies.

ROBERT A. FRUGE

Palm Springs

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* Your Oct. 12 editorial about the presidential debate mentioned Gore’s reference to the Marshall Plan as “nation building.” Let us not forget that it was of vital interest to the U.S. that a strong Europe resist Soviet expansionism under Stalin. This is the big difference between international involvement in the postwar years and various adventures of late.

In addition, aid to Europe was not “nation building.” We were rebuilding a civilization--a civilization from which we inherited Western culture, rationalism and science. I’m gratified to see that Gore feels it was worth saving, considering that in his in book, “Earth in the Balance,” he indicts Western civilization as “dysfunctional,” blaming it for most of the evils on the planet.

BILL ANDERSEN

Woodland Hills

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* Gov. Bush made his agenda clear Wednesday night: He wants to turn our country into the United States of Texas. Do you want to live where all the air is as polluted as it is in Houston? Where the wealthy get treated favorably but the poor don’t even get health insurance? Where endangered species won’t find protection if oil is under the ground or trees grow above it? Where a lethal injection is the answer to everything? I don’t.

JOAN WALSTON

Santa Monica

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* We were told by the media that Gore did not appear to be trustworthy during the first debate and that he must appear to be trustworthy during the second debate. This is an incredible insult to the American people--it is obvious and apparent that Gore is not trustworthy. And after the second debate, Gore went out with a whimper.

MARIANNE TRUITT

Marina del Rey

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* I am a new American with a past of having taken interest in the politics of each country I have lived in, including South Africa, Great Britain, Israel and now the United States. I have exercised my right to vote in all except Great Britain. Never have I been so amazed that the polls are as close as in this election. For me, there is no doubt that I will vote for Gore.

Bush’s incoherence and lack of understanding of the issues is so obvious. He has been propped up and rehearsed by a great team of cram-course wranglers. The words spew out of his mouth without ever having been processed through his brain. At best he would be the wrapping covering a committee presidency. At worst he would shoot from the hip and blunder awfully. None of the corporations backing him would ever offer him a job. How could they want to elect him president?

JUDITH YACOV

Los Angeles

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* Re Paul Conrad’s “Let the Debates Begin” cartoon, Oct. 11:

Many partisans have attempted to paint Bush as intellectually less than qualified for the position of president and chief executive of the United States. Lest we forget, Bush is not only a graduate of Yale but also a graduate of Harvard Business School--credentials any top Fortune 500 chief executive or world leader would covet. And, for the past six years, Gov. Bush has served as the chief executive of Texas, a state that, free standing from the U.S., boasts one of the largest, most diverse, most forward-thinking economies in the world.

Bush’s background as an entrepreneur, bridge builder and chief executive, combined with his genuine Texan spirit, will be a long-overdue breath of fresh air for Republicans, Democrats, independents and none-of-the-aboves.

BRETT HOLMES

Los Angeles

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* Re the comparison of the environmental agenda of Bush and Gore, Oct. 10: You neglected one aspect that I consider important--how will the next president view America’s Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands.

A Bush presidency will mean continued taxpayer-subsidized abuses, including clear-cutting, welfare ranching, large-scale mining and excessive off-highway vehicle use. A Gore presidency will continue the reforms currently in progress, recognizing that these lands belong to all Americans, including future generations, and not just a select well-heeled few.

PHILIPPE VERMEYEN

Vista

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* As a concerned voter, it seems to me that this is truly the year of the “buying of the presidency.” The GOP has no platform other than to buy ad space for Bush and denigrate the character of Gore. I blame the media acting irresponsibly in their fact-checking and in their desire to boil down sound bites, not news.

In the end, I think Americans have all lost the election no matter what the outcome, and I hope others are as outraged and dismayed. I hope that in the future we can see real campaign reforms and real news. And no, I am not some left-wing liberal on a rampage, I just think that we are headed down the wrong path, and I know that other Los Angeles and Orange County residents feel the same.

KAREN ANDREWS

Newport Beach