MAILBAG:

The Newport Beach City Council has always voted in a new mayor and mayor pro tem at the first meeting in December.

Even the Ridgeway, Adams and Bromberg triumvirate took turns, one year each and then rotated. Now the arrogant Ed Selich is going for a two-year stretch. Not with Leslie Daigle as pro tem, but Keith Curry. Even the Daily Pilot felt that Curry does not have the right temperament to even be on the council.

Then will Curry want two years as well? Or will the others revolt then, but not now.

In my opinion, the best mayors in the last five years have been John Heffernan and Don Webb.

The gang of four — Curry, Nancy Gardner, Mike Henn and Selich — seem to think they can do whatever they want. Aren’t they all supposed to be independent thinkers, doing only what is right for all Newport Beach residents? Or is this an ego trip for themselves?

Is there anyone with enough courage on that council to tell Selich to go to the back of the line. The council should elect a new mayor and pro tem.

If they don’t want Daigle as mayor, they should say why.

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What change does Obama have in mind?

President-elect Barack Obama ran on a campaign of change.

As candidates for his cabinet emerge, it looks a lot like a remake of the Clinton administration. Where’s the change?

This can actually be a good thing because a Clinton administration might not be open to the change Obama has in mind.

Before the election, then- Sen. Obama said, “We are five days from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” Everyone wants change, but does everyone really want to “fundamentally” transform the country?

What can Obama mean by “fundamentally transform?” The foundation of America is the Constitution. Does Obama want to transform its meaning? Is that beyond the realm of his intent?

I think not. Let’s look at what Obama said in one of the debates when asked about the kind of justices he would appoint to the Supreme Court.

“We need somebody who’s got the heart, the empathy to recognize what it’s like to be a teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it’s like to be poor, or African American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that’s the criteria by which I’m going to be selecting my judges.”

Words are important. Obama’s words tell us he will be nominating judges based not on their knowledge of and reliance on the Constitution, but on their subjective feelings, their empathy, and their heart.

Is this an indication that Obama views the Constitution as a “living document?” I would argue that his statement strongly suggests so. If that is the case, and the foundation of America is the Constitution, “fundamentally transforming the United States of America” necessarily implies fundamentally transforming the Constitution.

Is that the change the voters had in mind when they elected Obama to be the 44th president of the United States of America? I hardly think so.

ILA JOHNSON

Costa Mesa