McCain: Temper of the Times

Although I am troubled by the refusal of Senator John McCain to answer many of the questions asked of him, the emphasis TIME placed on this, rather than on his answers on the issues, is another example of the media's liberal bias [Sept. 8]. I was disappointed that the vast majority of your interview with McCain was devoted to his "prickly" attitude, when the full version of the interview on TIME.com had much more substance.
Alanna Rice, COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA, U.S.

TIME's compilation on McCain is brilliant and timely. It extols the honesty and integrity of McCain, and it all rings naturally true. Real courage comes from inborn convictions, not training, and McCain certainly has the right stuff. Our country needs a President who has guts and not popularity. If McCain wins, it will be the right victory, for he will put country before self, as we all should.
Thayalan Cumarasamy, CHERRY HILL, N.J., U.S.

Though I differ with Senator McCain on specific issues, I've always admired his maverick spirit and straight-talk approach to the press. But his interview with TIME raises grave concerns. McCain could have defused legitimate questions about his campaign's new discipline in any number of ways, but to put reporters from a major newsmagazine in the deep freeze betrays a fundamental lack of self-control, not to mention candor. Do we really want to elect such a mercurial individual as our Commander in Chief?
Owen Prell, MILL VALLEY, CALIF., U.S.

Why couldn't McCain simply provide his definition of honor? He misjudged this opportunity by failing to realize that the answer was for those who have not read his books. Read your book, McCain? We've decided to read Barack Obama's.
Jay Fenwick and Cindy Norris, BOONE, N.C., U.S.

Your special issue on the Republicans bent over backward to present McCain as an honorable man, but the transcript of his bizarre interview, in which McCain refused to answer simple and legitimate questions, was frightening. It showed a resentful, uncommunicative and uncooperative McCain who was uncomfortable with the straight talk he used to be known for and who had a chip on his shoulder the size of a sequoia. Such a volatile temperament renders him unfit to have his finger anywhere near the Button.
Lee Otterholt, LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF., U.S.

In your recent issue featuring Obama, he is portrayed as an all-around person fit for the job of being the next President of the United States. Your articles on McCain were anything but that. He does not get credit for anything that he has accomplished. While I understand there is freedom of the press, there still needs to be freedom of choice.
Rivky Levy, BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.

Your articles on McCain reveal truths that no objective person could help but understand. McCain and party call Obama an élitist because he went to the Ivy League schools Columbia and Harvard. Yet McCain went to Annapolis and became a pilot, and when asked he couldn't remember how many homes he and his wife owned! Talk about élitism! And do some people think that going against the party line one out of 10 times is a maverick? And he cannot answer a simple question about how he defines honor. No doubt he will later say how he regrets giving up his honor for expediency yet again as he has done so often. What a horror of a candidate — the U.S. and the world deserve better.
William Earl Simcoe, KARKKILA, FINLAND

I felt quite disappointed after reading McCain's interview because of his attitude toward the interviewer. Sometimes a journalist has to ask questions whose answers he's supposed to know, but they may be interesting for the readers. In my opinion, "Read it in my books" is not an appropriate answer, especially coming from a public personality.
Juan Moreno, SEVILLE, SPAIN

I am becoming weary of McCain's theme of putting country first. When a man spends so much energy saying the same thing over and over, it is almost as if he is trying to convince himself that he will always put country before self. His life story should be enough evidence of this, considering the number of years he has given to the service of his country at great personal loss. It can be easily argued that America is strongest when its economy is at its best, so the candidate would do well to dwell more on fixing the economy, providing jobs and research and development which have made America so strong, and downplay the macho America which only alienates it from the rest of the world. Honor, though, is another question!
Eyo Okon, LAGOS, NIGERIA

Adversity and Character
Re Michael Kinsley's essay on the effect of personal tragedy on politicians: Kinsley, you've got to get out more [Sept. 8]. It is human nature to take the easy path. Keeping a Down syndrome baby or refusing preferential treatment in horrendous prisoner-of-war conditions is a measure of character. Some can say what they'll do under pressure; others have demonstrated what they did under the intense heat of reality.
Troy Hammond, ASHBURN, VA., U.S.