Letters, Jul. 31, 1995

WILL HE RUN?

I BEAMED WITH PRIDE AS I READ ABOUT former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell [Cover Story, July 10]. He is witty, charming, handsome, distinguished, sensitive to others, eloquent, lavishly talented and possessed of a great sense of humor. He is our Mr. America. Who can find a reason not to support Powell for President? ELWOOD WATSON Orono, Maine

I DON'T WANT TO PREJUDGE POWELL AS a presidential candidate, but we should learn from our past experience. The U.S. suffered under Ulysses S. Grant, and stood still for eight years under Dwight Eisenhower. Military duty in command positions is not the appropriate training for political office. Politics is the art of building consensus among diverse special interests rather than the art of commanding others. The presidency should be the culmination of a career in civilian government service rather than a prize for a beloved military hero. THEODORE M. UTCHEN Wheaton, Illinois

WHAT A JOY IT WOULD BE TO VOTE FOR A candidate I actually want in the White House instead of settling for the lesser of two evils . Please, General Powell, run! LAURA FRANCIS Austin, Texas

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO GENERAL POWELL, ''Now it is incumbent on you to run for President, whether you run as Democrat, Republican or independent. History rarely forgives a budding promise thwarted before it has fully bloomed." SULTAN AKBARKHAN Jersey City, New Jersey

POWELL IS A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL FOR all of us, black and white. That is why I hope he resists all efforts to thrust him into the race for the White House. The election process has become dirty and boring, an affront to the intelligence of the American people. No matter how good a person Powell is, once he enters the political arena there are those people, politicians and journalists, who will go to extremes to destroy everything he stands for. What they cannot dig up, they will make up, and in the process we will lose a wonderful human being we can look up to and admire. JON MYERS Indianapolis, Indiana

A PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION WITH Powell taking the oath of office could mean another "Camelot" for America. ESTEB SALES ESTADILLA Verona, New Jersey

THE U.S. PRESIDENCY HAS BECOME A thankless, ineffective job for egoists. Intelligent, well-respected, highly capable, no-nonsense, truly compassionate candidates shouldn't stoop to apply. Powell deserves better, much better. SYBIL FREEMAN Decatur, Georgia

NOT ONLY COULD COLIN POWELL BE America's first black President, he could be the country's first independent President. George Washington, the first President of our country, did not seek the office. He was persuaded to preside over the Constitutional Convention because he realized he held the key to creating a new nation. Powell, not unlike Washington, holds the key to changing, for the better, the country he has fought for. He could overcome many problems that are a result of our two-party system. Powell says he wants America to live as a family. He should run for President, so that his wish for an American family will be one step closer to reality. ANTHONY LOUIS CIUCA Blacksburg, Virginia

GENERAL POWELL, FOR AMERICA'S SAKE, can you afford not to run? DARLENE J. CARROLL Minneapolis, Minnesota

CLOSE CALL FOR MUBARAK