Opportunity Lost

* Once again, Kevin Phillips has hit the nail on the head (Opinion, April 15). President Bush and his White House cohorts have been acting as though they won the popular vote last fall. If not for the acutely bizarre events surrounding the Florida vote count, Al Gore would be our president today, and Bush would be governor of Texas. It was clear last November that the American people rejected Bush; for this citizen his is an illegitimate presidency. It is utterly amazing to me that Bush did not take this unique opportunity to truly govern from the center, thus cultivating good will from the opposition. But then again, that would take real smarts, which Bush has never been accused of having.

BOB TEIGAN

Simi Valley