‘Sky’s Falling’ vs. ‘We’re Doing OK’

It’s amazing that Bill Clinton can come out and stump for John Kerry, stating that the Republican Party is using fear and doom and gloom to scare the people of this country. The way I see it, Kerry has been complaining since he started running for office. He has told blacks their votes are going to be suppressed, the economy is tanking, the war is going bad and the sky is falling, but Kerry has a plan to make everything right. He has made so many promises that he won’t be able to keep them all.

On the other hand, President Bush has kept an optimistic view of the situations facing this country throughout the debates and his stump speeches.

I think the voters are smart enough to judge for themselves who is the most honest of the two candidates.

Tony Barone

Huntington Beach

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As someone in the over-$200,000 income tax bracket, I agree with Tim Moore, an evangelical upset by tax cuts for the rich (“Conflicted Evangelicals Could Cost Bush Votes,” Oct. 27). You would think I would be voting for Bush, but I have patients who can’t afford inhalers, so they struggle to breathe every day; I have senior patients who can’t afford medication to slow down memory loss from Alzheimer’s, and yet this administration passed so-called Medicare reform, which rendered the government unable to negotiate lower prescription drug costs with pharmaceutical companies. I have a young mother in my practice whose 4-year-old son has diabetes, a disease for which stem cell research (which Bush opposes) promises a cure. I have patients whose loved ones are in Iraq or going to Iraq; I have patients who are uninsured.

As a mother and physician, I recognize the danger inherent in an administration that opens the door to discussions on preemptive nuclear war and closes it on human rights, women’s rights, patients’ rights, privacy, free speech and healthcare. Some things are more important than a tax break.

Maria Zambrano MD

Santa Clarita

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Now that we know everything (and even more) about the Heinz family (Oct. 27), wouldn’t it be about time to learn about the Kerry family? After all, he is the candidate, and not the Heinzes.

Judith Olah

Beverly Hills

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Re “Amazing Gall: The Catholic Attack on Kerry,” Commentary, Oct. 28: The naive and tired Democratic line that “Bush can’t admit a mistake” is again repeated by Margaret Carlson, reasoning that Bush’s alleged reliance on “divine guidance” precludes it.

The reality, as any political observer such as Carlson well knows, is that the minute Bush makes a public admission of a mistake, Kerry will be playing the sound bite in campaign commercials. For the same reason, Kerry cannot admit a mistake either.

Garr Davidson

San Gabriel

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This campaign has shown that we don’t even need a president. Even during his war in Iraq, this president has spent most of his time campaigning. Eliminate the presidency and save the expense of the office.

Madalyne Sklar

Palm Desert

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Re “The White House Wasn’t Always God’s House,” Commentary, Oct. 26: Sadly, writer Arthur Schlesinger Jr. has accurately portrayed the current Bush administration’s worship house, er ... White House.

In fact, during the Bush years, the GOP now stands for “God Ordained Politics.” Religious fervor has replaced reality-based solutions on cultural, scientific and political issues.

Bob Teigan

Simi Valley

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Re “Giving Cold Shoulder to Hot Election,” Oct. 28: Steven Kates encompasses all that is California -- all that is bad, that is. No wonder the whole country thinks we are a state of “flakes” who make excuses for personal responsibility and abdicate civic duty.

People in Iraq, North Korea and Indonesia die for the right to vote. It is very easy to study the issues, so quit making excuses and get with the program.

Jay Ross

Los Angeles