Support for Bush

Re “The Crisis of ‘Sam’s Club’ Republicans,” Commentary, Jan. 11: Just 10 weeks after the election, and Reihan Salam declares that President Bush’s second-term agenda is “spectacularly wrongheaded,” in part because the president fails to realize “that the Republican Party has changed.” It must have been a quick change because what Bush realized on Nov. 2 was more than 60 million votes, more than any cast for any candidate for any office in the history of our republic. Why is this so hard for some to realize?

Brian L. Buckley

Glenville, N.C.

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In his commentary, Salam summarizes a tragic truth: “Conservatives sell values to the working class, but they deliver economic ruin.” I just wonder why he felt obliged to tone down this remark by adding that this view is “overheated, under-informed and more than a little condescending.” Sadly, this reflects the tone mainstream newspapers, including The Times, now appear to use when talking about the right, in a pathetic attempt to appease the Republicans. People who have the intelligence to understand what is going on should not be shy about telling it straight.

Francois Joly

Gatineau, Quebec