Inbox

When the American electorate feels the pain of double-digit inflation and higher interest rates and taxes because of the enormous debt racked up by Obama and the Democrats, the pendulum of public opinion will swing back to sounder principles and the Republican Party. Let's hope it will not be too late and the Republicans won't screw it up again next time they're in power. Bob Routsong, ST. GEORGE, UTAH

You point out that Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina has refused $700 million in stimulus cash. Please tell the governor he should take it. I recently used Interstate 95, having just returned to New England from a vacation in Florida. The deplorable condition of that road in Sanford's state makes me wonder if he has his head screwed on straight. Take the money and create some jobs. Kevin Murray, MOULTONBORO, N.H.

I am old and can remember when some Republicans were statesmen who cared about our country, its people and its future. They disappeared in 1980. I want to see them back again. Donald A. Williams, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

That's One Good Cup of Joe!

Re "they only look dead" [May 18]: both parties need more faces like Joe Scarborough. I'm a left-of-liberal Democrat who could easily become a Scarborough Republican. At a time when Republicanism sounds like a social disorder, Scarborough is a welcome voice of thoughtfulness, reason and adaptability. Ideologues and vitriolic hatemongers like Rush Limbaugh raise the question, Have we outgrown the need for party labels? As both parties move to become more of what the other side hates, people like Scarborough and Arnold Schwarzenegger move toward pragmatic evolution. Bob Abrams, HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.

Scarborough writes, "instead of building empires abroad, Republicans should aim to balance their books at home." In other words, Republicans should listen to Ron Paul. Henry Miller, CARY, N.C.

Up, Up and Away

In his list of influences on Pixar's new film Up, from Dumbo to The Wizard of Oz, Richard Corliss overlooks another, earlier source of inspiration [May 18]. This is animation pioneer Winsor McCay's 1921 short film, in his Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend series, called The Flying House, in which the protagonist dreams that her husband adds wings and a propeller to their home and flies away into the universe to escape foreclosure. M. Thomas Inge, ASHLAND, VA.

A Wife's Tale

Elizabeth Edwards put into words exactly what it feels like to be betrayed by the one person you had trusted with your heart and soul [May 18]. As a breast-cancer survivor who had a devastating experience with infidelity, I have walked in her shoes. Thankfully, my humiliation was less public, yet it was still as raw and painful. Edwards has handled her husband's failure with dignity and courage, strength and class. I salute her. Francine Bless, PLACENTIA, CALIF.

Through her book sales, Edwards may be getting more satisfaction from her husband's affair than he ever did. Rich Redhill, LAKELAND, FLA.

While I empathize with Edwards, she does not appear to hold her cheating husband too accountable. Affairs take two people, and she seems to place 99% of the blame on the other woman involved. Rose Richard, SIGNAL HILL, CALIF.

The Dream of Health Care