Letters

Hal

"A political party like that of the Democrats, which has become a rubber stamp for the Republicans, has no future."
MARSHALL RAFTERY
Brutus, Mich.

With only 40% of u.s. citizens showing up at the polls, the results of this election can hardly be called a mandate [ELECTION 2002, Nov. 18]. We should make Election Day a national holiday and push voter participation to — gasp!--50% or 60%. Only then could the words mandate and triumph be used honestly.
MAGGIE DONALDSON
Seattle

LATEST COVER STORY Mind & Body Happiness Jan. 17, 2004 Past Issues Tsunami Jan. 10, 2004 ----------------- Person of the Year Jan. 3, 2004 ----------------- Secrets of the Nativity Dec. 13, 2004 ----------------- The Stealth Killer Dec. 6, 2004 ----------------- Coolest Inventions Nov. 29, 2004 ----------------- Battle for Fallujah Nov. 22, 2004 ----------------- Four More Years Nov. 15, 2004 ----------------- The Joy Of Sox Nov. 8, 2004 ----------------- The Morning After Nov. 1, 2004 ----------------- The God Gene Oct. 25, 2004 ----------------- The Vote Battle Oct. 18, 2004 ----------------- Visions of Tomorrow Oct. 11, 2004 ----------------- The Tragedy of Sudan Oct. 4, 2004 ----------------- CBS Controversy Sept. 27, 2004 ----------------- America's Border Sept. 20, 2004 ----------------- Struggle Within Islam Sept. 13, 2004 ----------------- World of George Bush Sept. 6, 2004 -----------------   SPECIAL REPORTS  Coolest Video Games 2004  Coolest Inventions  Wireless Society  Cool Tech 2004 PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS  At The Epicenter  Paths to Pleasure  Quotes of the Week  This Week's Gadget  Cartoons of the Week More graphics >> More photos >> MORE STORIES Advisor: Rove Warrior The Bushes: Family Dynasty Klein: Benneton Ad Presidency More Stories >> CNN.com: Latest News

Strategist Karl Rove kept the Republican machinery running, but you forgot to mention the fuel. It was the phony threat of an attack by Iraq that dominated the headlines, making people forget that Osama bin Laden is still on the loose and the economy is going south. And the Democrats just sat on the sidelines wondering what happened.
MAFALDA FAILLACE
League City, Texas

Democrats want to believe they were somehow outsmarted in the past election or two. But they are completely missing the point. The American people know the real thing when they see it, and that's why they responded to George W. Bush's party on Election Day.
JERRY SHENK
Harrisburg, Pa.

While Bush and his buddies are lining their pockets at our expense, wrongly demonized liberals continue to look quietly for compassionate and sustainable solutions to the problems that face us. Now we liberals need to step up and yell, "Enough greed!"
JOE BEVILACQUA
Napanoch, N.Y.

Your reporting on the midterm elections was perhaps an unwitting testament to how pathetic the U.S. political system has become. What a waste of resources! If our political parties, elected officials and their various minions would devote their time, energy and money to solving the country's problems instead of perpetually scheming to maintain and extend their power, we would all be a lot better off.
JOSEPH MORAN
St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Democrats seemed to be for nothing or against everything; they deserved to be humbled. Imagine the amount of hollering we would have had to endure had the Democrats scored a victory. Bush has delivered on his pledge to change the tone in Washington. As an independent, I welcome and appreciate the difference.
DEREK SCHMALZRIED
San Diego

--Some readers felt the cover photo of President Bush and Karl Rove enjoying a laugh in the Oval Office in April 2001 was misleading. "The President went out of his way to avoid any hint of gloating over the election results," wrote a reader from upstate New York, "so how did TIME depict him? Smiling in an old picture that gave exactly the opposite impression. Shame on you." A Georgian was just as disgusted: "Your snide attempt to convey that Bush was gloating was below the loosest journalistic standards. Unbelievable!" But an Arizonan thought the picture could be put to practical use: "Democratic members of Congress should pin the cover to their office wall as a grim reminder of what should never happen again."

Remote-Control Rubout

Your article "They Didn't Know What Hit Them" [WORLD, Nov. 18] described how in Yemen an American Predator drone fired a missile by remote control into a car carrying suspected terrorists and killed them. You said, "U.S. officials think" that one of the six killed was Kamal Derwish, "a Yemeni American cited in federal court papers as the ringleader of an alleged terrorist sleeper cell" in the U.S. Another victim, "according to Yemeni officials," was a former bodyguard of bin Laden's. Apparently, the U.S. now kills without judicial trials and without questions. Are we nothing more than technically advanced snipers and terrorists?
STEFAN SALINAS
San Francisco

Resorting to America's own form of terrorism, as happened in the Yemeni desert, is reckless and will serve only to breed more terrorists.
CHRIS E. ROACH
Austin, Texas

Arafat Gets Audited

I commend TIME for the article on the investigation into the finances of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority [WORLD, Nov. 18]. You revealed the past difficulty in uncovering corruption in the Palestinian Authority. The efforts of the team of American accountants who are helping the new Palestinian Finance Minister are welcome. Their investigation represents a step away from the failed leadership of Arafat and offers a more positive approach to coexistence with Israel.
DAN FENDEL
Piedmont, Calif.

At last, Arafat's monopoly on money is being exposed, and everyone can see the fraud and corruption that has been, and no doubt is still, taking place. Your article did a service for the Palestinian people, whose suffering has increased as a result of Arafat's manipulation of sizable contributions from the world at large. The piece also informed the international community, which up to now has stubbornly refused to see this corruption.
VIVIAN LERER
Belle Harbor, N.Y.