Howard Dean Is Right: Americans Are No Safer

In his Dec. 21 editorial cartoon (“The Straight Shooter,” Commentary), Michael Ramirez accuses Howard Dean of misrepresentation and lying. Last week Dean stated that the capture of Saddam Hussein did not make America any safer, and all the right-wing pundits attacked him. Now the Bush administration has raised the official terror threat level to orange, the highest danger level since 9/11.

So, assuming the administration is telling the truth (a large assumption, considering the administration’s habit of lying and trying to rule through fear), the American people are not any safer at all. Apparently Dean was right all along.

Russ Nichols

Los Angeles

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I was impressed with the rendering of the gun in Ramirez’s cartoon, but the name on it should have been George W. Bush. As far as I know, no one has died as a result of anything Dean has said, but a lot of people -- including more than 450 American soldiers, thousands of Iraqis and many others -- have been killed because Dubya lied about the WMD and the potential threat to America from “the man in the hole.” On the campaign trail, before the Supreme Court selected him president, Bush said “no nation-building.” Now, there’s a straight shooter.

Peter Katz

Sherman Oaks