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I'm not sure Richard Corliss and I watched the same movie [Nov. 3]. Oliver Stone most certainly did have a point of view in filming W., his slice-of-life depiction of George W. Bush. The genius of Stone is that he can duplicate the emotions in the movie theater that we all feel in real life: confounded disbelief that a person like Dubya could ever become the President of the United States. Bush is perhaps the worst President we have ever had or, hopefully, will ever have. The first election, in 2000, was engineered, jockeyed and ultimately stolen. The second, in 2004, was actually won by Bush. To cite the phrase that he himself found so difficult to utter: Fooled us once, shame on them. But the second time around, shame on us. W. should be required viewing in every political-science class in the country. Linda Calcagno Melchione EASTON, MASS.

The Obama Effect

The media make much ado about the so-called Bradley effect [Nov. 3]. And it doesn't take a genius to see that John McCain and Sarah Palin have counted on this racial motivation to help them overcome the consequences of their poorly run campaign. But we must now factor in an even more potent quotient: the Obama effect--that quality whereby the more you get to know a politician, the more you like and trust him or her. This likability and perceived trustworthiness continue to grow over time. Across the board, Obama's ratings have steadily increased with key groups that had been cool toward him before. Likewise, regarding key questions--like, Whom do you trust to improve the economy, be Commander in Chief, handle taxes or handle the housing crisis?--Obama leads McCain in recent polls. Obama endures. He grows on you. He has time on his side. He is the new kid on the block you decide not to like but find yourself secretly admiring and then openly supporting. In future elections, politicians will have to factor in the Obama effect. Lynn Capehart, LOS ANGELES

The Bradley effect? I predict a reverse Bradley effect this go-round. It will be fueled by sweet old ladies who have been voting Republican since Eisenhower and rugged blue collar workers who were Reagan men but who can't bring themselves to press that button and vote for McCain-Palin. They won't admit it to their friends and family--or the exit-poll people. Margie Shepherd, FREE UNION, VA.

Campaign Comparisons

Re Mike Murphy's "Here Be Monsters" [Nov. 3]: To compare the ACORN incident, in which a few paid workers filled out bogus voter registrations (which were detected, reported and purged by ACORN) for financial gain, with the massive and well-documented efforts by the GOP to suppress and steal votes is beyond biased. Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 were called Democratic on the basis of exit polls before mysteriously ending up on the GOP side, costing the Democrats both elections. In the two cases, state officials at the helm of the electoral process were GOP loyalists, intimately involved in the presidential campaigns. With a dismal ethics record and an ideologically rationalized "end justifies the means" worldview, is there any doubt that an increasingly desperate Republican Party will continue to resort to what has worked in the past? Francisco Rocco, LOS ANGELES