Inbox

Obama on the Offensive
Despite what the naysayers tell us about Senator Barack Obama's supposed inexperience, he is what this country needs after seven years of outrageous mismanagement by the grossly incompetent incumbent [Dec. 10]. In my native land, the pessimists said Corazon Aquino and her lack of experience didn't stand a chance against President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. History proved them wrong. A unifying figure like Aquino, without the usual political baggage that accompanies experience, was what the Philippines needed at the time. Obama presents himself as a conciliatory figure whose crossover appeal can help bridge the gap between blue and red staters. He is a much needed breath of fresh air in the musty corridors of power. As John F. Kennedy said, it is time for the torch to be passed on to a new generation. Let Obama be that torchbearer. He will put this nation back on the right track and make us proud to be citizens of the world once again.
Cheers Echevarria-Leary,
Pinole, Calif., U.S.

Like me, my eightysomething mother, a politically savvy liberal who has loved Oprah Winfrey for years, is deeply disappointed by Winfrey's support for Obama. Yes, we have to consider that there are men who will vote for anyone but a woman, and especially anyone but Hillary Clinton. But for "O" to support Obama, who's vastly less experienced than Clinton, makes Oprah's decision seem divisive, racist and against the best interests of the country as a whole. This next presidential vote cannot be about color or sex. It's got to be about qualifications. Her choice is an example of reverse racism, a subject white people feel too guilty to discuss.
Susan Mather,
San Francisco

I would like to see an article that omits the candidates' faces and party affiliations and lists only their names and their stances on important issues. It embarrasses me to be an American when fellow citizens vote on the basis of celebrity endorsements, sex and race. I think we need to look at the real issues of Iraq, immigration, education, poverty, health care, national security, maintenance of our roads and bridges, English as our national language, etc. I want to know how these issues would be handled. Then I will make my decision.
Suzanne Caravella,
East Windsor, N.J., U.S.

I am 75 years old, and my husband is 80. We have an annual income considerably less than $50,000. We no longer have children to raise or educate, our medical insurance is adequate, and we take advantage of the elderly tax credit. Obama has proposed eliminating income taxes for senior citizens at our income level, but why should we not be expected to pay our fair share of federal taxes? I surely hope that he does not believe our votes are for sale.
Patricia Gershon,
Laverne, Calif., U.S.

Obama the contender? You sure got that right. Now I can't wait to see your cover story on the winner of the 2008 Iowa Democratic caucuses: John Edwards.
Karol Pfeifer Howard,
Toluca Lake, Calif., U.S.

Caught Between Color Lines
In "The Identity Card," Shelby Steele offered an insightful, thought-provoking examination of race in politics [Dec. 10]. I have a couple of questions, though. What exactly are black values vs. white values? What white shame does he believe binds my actions? He stated that "racist societies make race into a hard fate," yet he perpetuated racist beliefs in his article. Each individual is a cornucopia of various physical and behavioral traits. No single trait, most certainly not the pigment in one's skin, remotely defines any of us. If we want to end racism, let us end the practice of using accepted but clearly racist words to define individuals. The truth will set us free; let's open our eyes to that truth.
John Conlin,
Littleton, Colo., U.S.

It may be simplistic to think that whites are desperately wanting blacks to give them approval for their "enlightened" racial views. As someone who for the past 20 years has spent time in black neighborhoods doing everything from feeding the homeless to tutoring students in college math, I am painfully aware that many blacks are themselves racist. Many of those I know think that discrimination against whites is a mark of racial solidarity rather than a prejudice to be minimized and eventually abandoned. So I'm doing what I do because I was poor once myself, and I know how the soul of many can be impoverished by being poor. Personal approval is only a rare bit of icing on the cake. Most likely, Steele has a few masks of his own that become apparent only by reading between the lines of his article.
Frank Kizer,
Bartlett, Tenn., U.S.

I think the points steele explored have been swimming through the minds of many Americans without quite reaching the surface. I especially loved his description of black public figures as either "bargainers" or "challengers" and how he aptly identified the merits and liabilities of each. It's interesting that Obama might lose some of the black vote to Clinton, but she might lose some of the women's vote to him. I am torn between wanting Obama to be a challenger and being thankful he is a bargainer, but more than that, I agree with Steele in calling for Obama "to reveal what he truly believes as an individual."
Raquel Gonzalez,
Harrisburg, Pa., U.S.

Is Steele trying to reduce the remarkable achievements of Winfrey and Obama — two of our country's most compelling citizens — to their ability to make whites "think well of themselves"? Those who accept Steele's soul-crushingly cynical view should realize that they are also embracing the belief that no progress has been made on racism in the U.S., and it will always be an insurmountable problem. How can Steele so blithely discount the tantalizing possibility that we are witnessing a truly new day? Millions of black and white Americans deeply admire Oprah Winfrey and Senator Obama for their character, energy and ideas, not because of skin color or guilt. Every step Americans take toward common ground will bring all those who sell hopelessness a step closer to a richly deserved obscurity.
Margaret E. Young,
Weatherford, Texas, U.S.

As an almost 50-year-old white female, I won't vote for Obama. It has nothing to do with his being "too black" or "too white." He is just too green to be President of the U.S.
Angela M. Lombardi,
Miami

In his book The Content of Our Character, Steele promoted the notion that the U.S. suffers from "race fatigue." America may be tired, but Steele seems exhausted. He now reminds us blacks why we view his analysis as suspect and influenced by self-hate. Steele seems desperate to transfer his racial baggage to Obama. Steele places him in a racial box and then explains to us why he belongs there, refusing to accept that Obama can authentically view himself as an individual who happily lives his life as a black man embracing the American Dream. Steele's simplistic labels ("bargainers" and "challengers") disregard the subtleties we employ to navigate our way through the racial land mines of mainstream America. Perhaps he is the one who needs labels and identity cards to know who he is.
Preston Foster,
Lawrenceville, N.J., U.S.

Mending a Split City
After reading "Jerusalem Divided," I can't believe that no one has put forward the obvious solution: make it a federal district similar to Washington or Canberra [Dec. 3]. Palestine and Israel could base their federal government headquarters in the city, which could be ruled by a council made up of equal numbers of Christians, Muslims and Jews. That way, the important religious shrines and places of worship would be available to all, city services would be controlled by people who actually live there, and perhaps emergency personnel would be free to respond to anyone who needs their services without waiting for a police escort. This is surely a better plan than trying to figure out how to subdivide a city that is thousands of years old and whose residents refuse to settle into Jewish-only or Muslim-only enclaves.
Clayton Philbrook,
Matinicus, Maine, U.S.

Jerusalem's Jewish leaders should treat Arab residents of the city as equals to end the suffering and anguish that is poisoning life in our Holy City and Holy Land. By our, I speak for all Christians, Muslims and Jews (in no particular order).
Daniel Berenyi,
Honolulu

A Stem-Cell Breakthrough?
Michael Kinsley's commentary about stem-cell research was disappointing, especially in that he let emotional rhetoric overshadow scientific evidence [Dec. 10]. Many cures and treatments have been derived from stem cells — but none from embryonic cells. Ethically sound adult stem cells, which have been studied for 30 years, are a proven source of medical advances, so we haven't "lost years" of treatment development. Moreover, taxpayer dollars weren't used to fund the destruction of human life in that time. It was a moral stand President George W. Bush made. Let's move on with consensus on this new research.
Ronald Simpson, M.D., University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences,
Mountain View, Ark., U.S.

Kinsley is on solid moral ground in excoriating Bush for disallowing stem-cell research during the almost seven years of his regime. It is heartbreaking to think how many lives could have been saved had scientists been allowed more leverage in their approach to curing many of the diseases that ravage humanity. The Administration's posture on this issue is a symptom of a broader problem: the gradual incursion of personal religious beliefs into the fabric of our government. The integration of church and state is a dangerous trend threatening the personal freedoms that America has always respected.
Bill Gottdenker,
Mountainside, N.J., U.S.

Treating Parkinson's disease is much more complicated than just using stem cells to produce more dopamine, as Kinsley wishes. Stem-cell growth and dopamine production can't always be controlled, and too much dopamine can cause involuntary movements and hallucinations. Embryonic stem cells transplanted or injected into the brain have produced mixed results in both animals and humans. Parkinson's affects the whole brain, and dopamine alone cannot cure it. Why should I hope for an ethical cure? My wife has been living with Parkinson's for nine years.
Steve Maloney,
Franklin, Ky., U.S.

Kinsley said the moral dilemma over embryonic stem cells is not real and never was. That is not the view of James Thomson, who was the first scientist to isolate human embryonic stem cells and who asserted that "if human embryonic-cell research does not make you a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough." Would I be more certain about the lack of moral questions related to this research if I suffered from Parkinson's disease, as Kinsley does? I doubt it. My mother died from the disease, and my brother battles it every day. And though I hope that stem-cell research will yield untold benefits, my excitement is muted — perhaps because I was a research chemist for more than 40 years. Only when we see giant corporations risk their own dollars to support the research will we see progress.
Joseph K. Valaitis,
Brecksville, Ohio, U.S.

The Great Escape
Why are the Iraq-war films failing [Nov. 26]? Hollywood should realize by now that it can't use every war as an opportunity to make money. The reality is that movies are still perceived as a source of sheer entertainment; moviegoers go to the theaters to laugh, cry or just be impressed by the cool special effects. You don't really get that amusement when you're watching a movie that is all about how your government made the wrong choices and your countrymen are dying as a result. Even if the motive of a movie is to teach a moral lesson, it's not easy to stick to the facts and dramatize at the same time. It is not a simple issue of recruiting A-list actors and using emotional appeal. The great Iraq-war movie won't be appearing for quite some time, because for now it's just too close to reality. Viewers want to forget momentarily about bad things that are going on around them. Besides, they only have to switch on the TV or read the headlines to be reminded of how bad the war is.
Hannah Jung,
Seoul

Pushing Preschoolers
To those parents who enroll their preschoolers in tutoring programs, I say let children be children [Dec. 3]! At my daughter's preschool, the students learn how to cook. It's a great way to learn about following procedures and measuring results. They are encouraged at age 4 to write their own names and recognize those of their peers. We measure our daughter's height regularly. In return, she's always asking about how much something measures and is very interested in numbers and words. Teach them a second language. My daughter speaks English and French fluently and wants to learn Spanish. I have a full-time job, but I spend as much time with her as I can. She loves being a kid, and we enjoy learning together. For now, I'm enjoying seeing her grow and learn at her own pace and, of course, helping and encouraging her in whatever she wants to learn. At such a young age, being with the parents after school is better than sending children off to another classroom. Love rules!
Elisabeth Szentkereszty de Zagon,
Brussels

As an educator I found that bright children sent unprepared to school by clueless parents often surpassed their well-trained peers in reading by the end of second grade. The age-old and inexpensive adage that children read to become readers holds true in spite of anxious parents trying to give an edge to their preschoolers.
Suzan Davis,
Irvine, Calif., U.S.