Campaign: ‘Your Show of Shows’

Re “Stop Pandering to Those Lazy Undecideds,” Commentary, Oct. 22: The presidential campaign has become “Your Show of Shows.” The campaign has been reduced to a level unprecendented in politics. Jonah Goldberg’s column says it all. The media (TV), the focus groups and the so-called independent voters all have contributed to the dumbing of America. The campaign has become a ratings game--not the important election of our president. All show and no substance. We can all sit back and watch Jay Leno and David Letterman to decide the outcome of this election. We don’t have to think, we don’t have to vote--all we have to do is watch and laugh.

BEVERLY KLEIN

Pismo Beach

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If most voters got most information from newspapers and magazines and C-SPAN, political money’s corrosive influence would wither. I’m an undecided voter.

MICHAEL HELPERIN

Los Angeles

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I find it hard to believe there are any truly undecided voters. A much more likely scenario is that many voters are afraid of looking foolish if their candidate suddenly takes a plunge. Staunch Bill Clinton supporters found themselves embarrassed during his administration. Rabid Rudy Giuliani fans were shocked with his extracurricular activities. People don’t want to stick their necks out, but they have to know by now for whom they plan to vote.

LARRY NEWTON

Long Beach

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“Gore Forced to Fight the Clinton Factor” (Oct. 21), an examination of Al Gore’s reluctance to tap into President Clinton’s popularity, may explain something that is increasingly evident as one drives around: George W. Bush’s supporters outnumber Gore’s overwhelmingly, if one is to judge based on a count of lawn signs.

My first reaction when I noticed this disparity was to wonder if I was driving only in Republican strongholds. Then I wondered if Gore’s much-vaunted lead here was in fact a figment of pundits’ imagination. Your article puts it in a different perspective: Bush’s supporters are proud of their man, Gore’s are not.

For all their attempt to belittle Bush’s intelligence, Gore’s campaign staff cannot erase the stain of his association with a president who has diminished the office and eroded public respect for the rule of law. I wouldn’t want his sign on my lawn either.

FRED LA SOR

Pasadena

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Not after more than 50 years of reading commentaries and political cartoons have I ever seen a more virulent, tasteless and purely hateful cartoon than “Clinton returns to the campaign trail” (Commentary, Oct. 22). I would really like to hear Michael Ramirez’s reason for showing a brassiere hanging from Clinton’s caricature. What earthly purpose can this obviously inflammatory portrayal serve, other than to dredge up the regretful incidents of the recent past? Ramirez unquestionably is a card-carrying member of the far right, but this cartoon is unconscionable and serves no one, not even him. Guilt by association is far too reminiscent of the ugly McCarthyism era.

ALBERT COHEN

Sherman Oaks