Inbox

Government by the People
You got it right with your cover headline, "It's the Voters, Stupid ... Forget the experts. Forget the polls. Forget the TV ads" [Jan. 21]. What the primary results from New Hampshire showed, once again, is the arrogance of the national media — especially television news, which continues to believe that it's the story. They seemed downright insulted that the voters of New Hampshire didn't vote the way the commentators and pollsters said they would. It's long past time that the talking heads acknowledge they don't have any more political insight than do the schoolteacher and garage mechanic pulling the lever in the voting booth.
Frank Maurizio,
Schenectady, N.Y., U.S.

Saved by Sentiment?
Although polls indicate that women were instrumental in Clinton's win in New Hampshire, I take exception to the premise that the majority of women were taken in when she showed emotion [Jan. 21]. My immediate reaction to the episode was that she was showing the frustration that had been building for days. Clinton is not a touchy-feely woman who has hidden her emotions all these years. She is cold and calculating, and I'm sure in future months we will see the real lady come to the fore, the one who will take no prisoners and will do anything to get the nomination.
Susan Kraebber,
West Lafayette, Ind., U.S.

The Root of Kenya's Chaos
As a Kenyan, I was troubled by "The Demons that Still Haunt Africa," which distorted the situation in Kenya, either out of ignorance or in keeping with the Western media's romance with the bleak face of Africa [Jan. 21]. Poverty may predispose people to violence, but the postelection skirmishes in Kenya were not a natural consequence of poverty. Kenyans have been poor but peaceful for decades. Rather, the protests are the language of the weak against a regime that rigged itself into power. The violence is motivated by century-old tribal wounds that had been allowed to fester. Second, tribalism is not the brainchild of Kenya's first President; it started with the imperial British driving wedges between people so they could colonize them with ease. It was then perfected by myopic postcolonial leaders who were keener on self-aggrandizement than on improving living conditions for poor folks. Developed countries like the U.S. are not half as enthusiastic about a stable democratic Africa as they are about forging partnerships against terrorism and for their multinational corporations, even with hideous and illegitimate regimes. Rich nations are very much a part of the demons that haunt Africa.
Mark Evans Ondari,
East Lansing, Mich., U.S.

You fell short of reminding readers that the same demons haunt Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. They arise from the evil in human nature. And by the way, Kenya is not Africa's sole "island of stability." My country, Ghana, and many others are poor but stable. Africa has been marginalized in the American media, except when it comes to bloodshed. Unfortunately, you affect Africa's effort to develop as much by what you choose not to report.
William K. Agadzi,
Eorcester, Mass., U.S.

A Voice Silenced
In "Why Pakistan Matters" [Jan. 14] Simon Robinson argued that Musharraf's plan of balancing American interests with Islamist sympathies to keep himself in power backfired. I disagree with that assessment. Musharraf has been using the threat of extremists to prove his utility and indispensability to the Western world. The real danger to Musharraf was from the Supreme Court, the dismissed Chief Justice and the lawyer community. That danger has now subsided, thanks to the state-of-emergency order. The only remaining danger to Musharraf was Bhutto, and that's why she is no more. The sad part is that the West has never helped us build the institutions needed to sustain democracy. Even now, if Pakistan matters to the world, it is because of the fear that nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of militants. But Pakistan's 170 million people don't matter to the U.S. or to the rest of the world.
Majid Rauf Ahmad,
Lahore, Pakistan