Letter: Cover issues in presidential race
On the left, Mitt Romney talks to reporters in Las Vegas. On the right, President Obama talks about taxes at the White House. (Aug. 3, 2012) Credit: AP
The Aug. 10 column by Lane Filler, "In this year's vote, to the likable go the spoils" [Opinion], is an effort that I think was meant to be satirical but in the end does nothing to illuminate your readers.
Instead of dealing with facts, the column makes the very point that Filler so glibly writes about: that the media would rather write about the horse race than about real issues. He is terribly wrong. As with all presidential elections, this one is incredibly important.
The stakes are just as high as they were in 2000 and 2004. If George W. Bush had not been elected, and then re-elected, our country might not have gone from a $300-billion budget surplus to a $1.2-trillion budget deficit. We might not have entered into the war in Iraq that diverted resources from the work that needed to be done in Afghanistan.
The main reason John McCain did not get elected -- aside from his terrible vice presidential pick -- is because voters knew he had no clue about how to stop the imploding economy. In his first term, President Barack Obama has achieved progress in repairing the enormous damage.
I found the message of this column insultingly condescending in suggesting that undecided U.S. voters are not interested in making a choice between presidential candidates based solely on the issues.
Bernard Kilkelly, Lynbrook
