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closeBelieve the Berliners
I was in Berlin on Sept. 11, 2001, to be followed by Russia and Scandinavia. The people of those nations were totally sympathetic and supportive of the people of the United States following that tragedy. It was Bush’s golden opportunity to transform that tragedy into a new role of leadership in the world. Unfortunately, he chose to thumb his nose at the nations, even long-standing allies, and made us look like a nation of fools.
On July 24, a black American walked onto the stage of Berlin and spoke with the intelligence and vision befitting someone seeking the office of president of the United States. Berliners and Europeans are encouraged and inspired by the possibility that he may be the next U. S. president.
As I watched him speak to 200,000 Berliners, I once again felt the surge of pride that I felt so many years ago, when JFK spoke to Berliners.
It’s been a long moral drought in America, not imposed upon us by foreign powers nor by terrorists. Hopefully we will raise Obama up to lead us out of this self-inflicted devastation and to rejoin the civilized nations in defeating the terrible waste wrought by fear and ignorance.
Jim Carlisle
Atascadero
Cal’s wrong on McCain
Regarding the Cal Thomas commentary on July 23: Cal Thomas reminds me of someone who has the attention span of a hummingbird with amnesia.
Thomas writes, “A correct world view is…having an intellectual and moral center that allows one to distinguish between…right and wrong.” By “intellectual” he certainly can’t mean President Bush. By “moral,” is he referring to Vice President Dick Cheney who orchestrated a pre-emptive war by lying to American citizens?
Thomas cites polls showing a majority of Americans trust John McCain on national security, then claims, “They are right to do so.” Two paragraphs later he informs us “a politician who bases positions on polls and clamoring interest groups—rather than the national interest — is a person without a core.” Is he referring to John McCain and his cabal of corporate lobbyists and his insidious “economic guru,” Phil Gramm?
McCain and Bush/Cheney have started echoing positions Obama took months ago such as diplomatic outreach to Iran, troop withdrawal from Iraq, increase American troops along the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Yet, Obama is portrayed as the foreign affairs neophyte.
Until John McCain can understand the difference between Sunni and Shiite and realizes Iraq does not border Pakistan, I’m voting for Obama, the visionary.
Ron Neal
Paso Robles
Obama’s shortcomings
Presidential candidate Barack Obama acts like he is the president. I have news for him: In America, we have one president at a time. He has yet to be elected.
Obama said he visited 57 states. Valerie Hopkins (Letters, July 29) had the insight to suggest he may be thinking 57 Islamic states. I think she is right on. After all, a college graduate should know we have 50 states.
Why does he keep reminding us he’s black? It is quite obvious. He said he doesn’t look like the other presidents on the dollar bills (another presumption he’s president). Well, the presidents on the dollar bills do not look like each other either.
He keeps reminding us he has a funny name. Heaven forbid, we are not allowed to say Hussein without being accused of pointing a finger.
On the issues, he’s like a fish out of water—he flips and flops all over the place. Maybe it’s because he’s a first-term senator who had less than 200 days of experience (or lack of experience) under his belt.
Delores Hilton
Creston
Vote for the smart guy
A core principle of personnel selection in the business world is: A smart guy can fail, but a dumb guy never has a chance, so hire the smartest people you can find. In the coming business of selecting a president, the voters should keep that in mind.
The choices are a very smart, inexperienced young fellow and a highly experienced old guy who obtained a legacy appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy because he came from a family of admirals. He finished very close to the bottom of his class out of 800 midshipmen.
Reminds me of George W. Bush and his enrollments at Andover, Yale and Harvard. His academic performance was poor at best, and we have suffered the unfortunate results of hiring that guy.
I think we would be well served to take a chance on the smart guy this time and vote for Obama. Think about it, folks.
John R. Hemming
Paso Robles
Drilling now won’t help
Drill now, says Mark Whipple (Letters, July 30), to save the jobs of locals who depend on Valley tourists. Otherwise, he warns locals can expect layoff notices soon.
What does it take to convince the likes of Mr. Whipple that it will be 10 years or so before locals will see any benefits from drilling off our coast. Oil wells and supporting infrastructure don’t simply appear overnight.
The White House and Mc-Cain concede coastal oil can lower gas prices by no more than a few cents.
During this next decade, technological advances in battery, solar and wind energy will significantly minimize our dependence on foreign oil. By then we will drive electric cars and use renewable resources to satisfy most of our energy needs.
Oil companies have leases for 68 million acres of federal land. They are not drilling there. They are not investing in new refinery construction. Why? Oil profits are currently the highest in history. The automotive and oil industries, with the support of George W. Bush, have fought every congressional proposal to increase minimum automobile and truck mileage standards.
There is no incentive to lower Mr. Whipple’s gasoline prices; these times are too good for Big Oil.
Joseph Amanzio
Paso Robles
A slight difference
Someone should have explained to George W. Bush that a president is elected to run the country, not ruin the country.
Neva Glenn
Atascadero
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