Letters: Dec. 11, 2006

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I was flabbergasted that your cover in the wake of the Democratic election triumph was a Venn diagram with the headline "Why the Center Is the New Place to Be" [Nov. 20]. Huh? The Democrats kicked butt. You should have put Howard Dean on the cover. It was his 50-state strategy, along with the great fund-raising work of Congressman Rahm Emanuel and Senator Chuck Schumer, and great candidates with grass-roots support, that won the election.

RUTH ADKINS Portland, Ore.

Twelve years ago, when the G.O.P. took control of the Congress, the cover of TIME heralded the "G.O.P. Stampede." Now, when the stampede is by the Democrats, what does the cover say about it? There was nary a mention of the Democrats' historic victory, just the headline "Why the Center Is the New Place to Be." But the American people did not move to the political center; they strongly repudiated the hard right.

JAMES K. POWER North Bergen, N.J.

After receiving the third magazine cover in a row with a white background, I have to say, How boring. Half the fun of getting the magazine is guessing what will be on the cover and then seeing what TIME has chosen. I understand the red and blue Venn diagram, but it looks terrible on my coffee table. I hope the Person of the Year cover will not be an abstract artist's caricature of somebody on a white background. If I want to see that kind of art, I'll go to a museum.

KAREN WALTERS Paradise, Calif.

Postelection Pivoting

"Searching for a Strategy" [NOV. 20] reported that some Republicans are afraid "the White House is about to abandon the neoconservative project to bring democracy to the Middle East." But what right does the President have to decide which system other countries should live under? Democracy has to be desired, demanded and understood by the people. Look at the histories of prominent democracies; most involve civil wars, revolutions or painful, bloody transitions. In Iraq the concept of democracy is strange and new, so it is inevitable that democratization will be a long, drawn-out process with many pitfalls along the way, and no guarantees.

ANDREW HAILSTONE Bangkok

The U.S. midterm election results signaled that Americans want a change in U.S. foreign policy. President Bush made a start by replacing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The President should have followed that by removing John Bolton from his post as U.N. ambassador. Bush also ought to re-evaluate U.S. foreign policy toward Israel. How can the Bush Administration claim to be waging a war on terrorism when the U.S. supports the Israeli government's actions in the Palestinian territories and actively blocks any attempt by the U.N. to thwart them?

RORY MORTY Giessen, Germany

The Iraqi people have squandered their liberation from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. Religious fanaticism, political and tribal animosities and irrational anti-Western sentiments have created a crisis of national self-destruction. To reduce the regional prejudice against Western culture, a large scholarship program for young Muslims, with stays of two to four years in the U.S. and Europe, should be launched. I remember gratefully the liberation of Germany at the end of World War II and the subsequent cultural and economic development.

GERHARD FRITSCH Nuremberg, Germany

The Ideal Idealists