Letters

• Share

"Dean has the courage to do good things, to restore faith to the disillusioned and the ability to make us proud to be Americans again."
DAN GALLAGHER
San Diego

LATEST COVER STORY Mind & Body Happiness Jan. 17, 2004 Past Issues Tsunami Jan. 10, 2004 ----------------- Person of the Year Jan. 3, 2004 ----------------- Secrets of the Nativity Dec. 13, 2004 ----------------- The Stealth Killer Dec. 6, 2004 ----------------- Coolest Inventions Nov. 29, 2004 ----------------- Battle for Fallujah Nov. 22, 2004 ----------------- Four More Years Nov. 15, 2004 ----------------- The Joy Of Sox Nov. 8, 2004 ----------------- The Morning After Nov. 1, 2004 ----------------- The God Gene Oct. 25, 2004 ----------------- The Vote Battle Oct. 18, 2004 ----------------- Visions of Tomorrow Oct. 11, 2004 ----------------- The Tragedy of Sudan Oct. 4, 2004 ----------------- CBS Controversy Sept. 27, 2004 ----------------- America's Border Sept. 20, 2004 ----------------- Struggle Within Islam Sept. 13, 2004 ----------------- World of George Bush Sept. 6, 2004 -----------------   SPECIAL REPORTS  Coolest Video Games 2004  Coolest Inventions  Wireless Society  Cool Tech 2004 PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS  At The Epicenter  Paths to Pleasure  Quotes of the Week  This Week's Gadget  Cartoons of the Week More graphics >> More photos >> MORE STORIES Advisor: Rove Warrior The Bushes: Family Dynasty Klein: Benneton Ad Presidency More Stories >> CNN.com: Latest News

I believe Howard Dean to be just the kind of centrist we need in the White House [NATION, Aug. 11]. I'm tired of the bickering over whether a candidate is too liberal or too conservative. I'm interested in electing a President who has a record of compromise that will permit things to get done without giving too much leverage to special interests. Dean is a fresh face with fresh ideas. He speaks his mind and his convictions. He is not afraid to be branded un-American for saying what needs to be said.
JEFF ANDERSON
Brattleboro, Vt.

Dean is a reincarnation of Eugene McCarthy. This is not the time for Democrats to do a Don Quixote routine. They need to find a real candidate who can win and enable Bush to become the next baseball commissioner.
TIM CROUCH
Lubbock, Texas

Dean is by far the best choice on the issues of foreign policy, taxation, health care and the environment. But best of all, he comes on like a scrapper! I've had a bellyful of wimps.
ARTHUR HAUPT
Chicago

I deeply appreciated your article "The Cool Passion of Dr. Dean," but I must correct one thing. You said I seem to regard the use of U.S. military power with "a mixture of contempt and suspicion." I supported American military intervention in the first Gulf War and in Afghanistan, which I considered to be a matter of U.S. national security. I did not back President Bush's attack on Iraq because I thought that the American people were not being told the truth about the reasons for invading. I do not believe any President should be given blanket authority to invade another nation unless the President sets forth clear and truthful reasons. That does not make me contemptuous of using military power; it makes me a candidate who is more judicious in the use of U.S. military power than President Bush and many of my Democratic competitors.
HOWARD DEAN
South Burlington, Vt.

You overestimated the importance of Dean's opposition to the Iraq war. Dean's support isn't made up only of the antiwar left. He appeals to voters because he challenges the cowardly, disastrous strategy that the Democratic Party pursued in the 2002 elections when the party's leaders refused to fight Bush's shortsighted, meanspirited policies. Like many Democrats, I have felt voiceless because none of the Democrats in Congress spoke for me. Dean speaks up. He doesn't apologize for what he believes in. That's why he will have my vote.
DOUG MUDER
Nashua, N.H.

You misread the Dean voter. We are not all young, white, upper-middle-class, suburban, East Coast — educated liberals. Some of us — like me — are black, middle-age, urban and politically pragmatic. We understand that Dean is not the flaming leftist some say he is. We support him because he did not cynically back President Bush's Iraq-war gambit. Dean speaks out for what he believes; he's willing to tackle difficult problems and try innovative approaches to solving them. He's not perfect, he has his rough edges, and we supporters may not agree with him on some issues. But we believe wholeheartedly that he is the right man to lead this country.
TERRY LAKE
Hayward, Calif.

--Of all the pictures in our story on Howard Dean, the shot of the candidate in his disordered Vermont kitchen got the most comments. "How could a man who lives in such an appalling mess be expected to organize our country's business?" asked an Indiana woman. More approving was a woman from New York State: "I made my campaign contribution to Dean for a lot of reasons, but I knew my choice was right when I saw the photo of his kitchen. Those counters are as cluttered as mine are!"

Osama Who?

"Letting up on Osama" reported that the focus on the hunt for Saddam Hussein has derailed the search for Osama bin Laden [NOTEBOOK, Aug. 11]. The increase in terrorist warnings and bombings are all reminders that bin Laden is still a real terrorist threat. It is a travesty that President Bush has diverted our attention for his own personal vendetta against Saddam. He has got the U.S. into an Iraqi quagmire that will take years to resolve.
MARY JO VEVERKA
Bethesda, Md.

The Killing of Uday

You described in detail the military's hunt for Saddam and the killing of his two sons [WORLD, Aug. 11]. I was horrified by the description of the death of Uday Hussein, which said a soldier "pumped two bullets into Uday's mouth, to ensure his death." This was sickening. I reject the cold-blooded stalking and killing of anyone, even a murderous dictator and his family. This was an extreme example of American savagery. Why weren't Uday and Qusay brought to trial?
MEG REYNOLDS
Chicago

So Uday, a potential source of immense amounts of valuable information, could have been captured alive but instead was extrajudicially executed? This is a story that deserves more attention.
ANDREW BRADBURY
Santa Fe, N.M.