A Global Leader

I am wondering when TIME will elevate Barack Obama to sainthood. That he is the first African-American (50%) President is a great historic achievement [Jan. 26]. But beside this, could TIME enlighten readers as to his outstanding legislative achievements in Illinois or the Senate, or the executive experience that qualifies him for the presidency and thus to be some sort of reincarnation of Lincoln? To be an oratorical superstar does not make him a savior. Let's talk about his real record a year from now.
Charles G. Kormendy, FRANKFURT, GERMANY

To suggest that Obama has not had the experience of "humiliation and racism" is presumptuous and insulting. Andrew Young has obviously not read Obama's memoir, Dreams from My Father, which details Obama's lifelong struggle with identity, race and racism. It is true that Obama defies easy labeling, but to say he bears no scars is myopic. Obama overcame his adversity to rise above it and bring our nation with him. God bless him and his family.
Nancy Green, FAWN GROVE, PA., U.S.

Voice of a Black God
Michael Kinsley's essay was on the mark, but he made a glaring omission [Jan. 26]. If God should choose to talk to us, we would expect him to sound like James Earl Jones. But what about Mrs. God? Why, of course, it would be the voice of a marvelous black woman, Maya Angelou. And what a heavenly sound that would be.
A. Lynn Buschhoff, DENVER

It's not that Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones sound black — they sound American. The current voices of God are a celebration not of America embracing the black man but of America shedding its racial pretense (which is more than I can say for Kinsley's essay).
Mark Still, PHILADELPHIA

The Trillion-Dollar Question
Michael Grunwald wrote in "How to Spend a Trillion Dollars" [Jan. 26] that if the government gives money away to stimulate the economy, it should target "people who can't afford to save it ... that's why Obama is pushing a permanent $500-per-person credit on payroll taxes for every worker making less than $200,000 a year." Was that sarcasm?
Frank Humphreys, DUBLIN

Grunwald's story contains the most gems per paragraph of anything I have ever read [Jan. 26]. His analyses of the problems, the opportunities, the pitfalls and the inevitable lining up at the feeding trough are all spot-on. I especially liked the admonition to give the money to the people who can't afford to save it. That money will go straight to the free market — even though my wife and I will most likely save anything we get.
Paul Bliss, SAN DIEGO

Women at Work
I agree with Vivienne Walt's support for Rachida Dati's quick return to work [Jan. 26]. Here in France there is a Stepford Wives social pressure that is unimaginable elsewhere. I have lived here since 2006 and am aware of female peer pressure to conform to images considered permissible, laudable and responsible for women. Due to my traveling as an aid worker, being non-French and divorced, all sorts of labels are thrown at me, making it impossible to do almost anything alone. How sad when women have laudable goals and yet members of their own sex want to harm them with their own parochial meanness. Good for you, Ms. Dati, as you struggle to defend what you care for.
G.J. Elam, NERAC, FRANCE