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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 20, 2008

A Bad Comparison

Regarding "Bush Remarks Rile Obama" (Nation/World, May 16):

Is there anyone left in this country who believes that G.W. Bush has any credibility? If Bush wants to make an analogy, it should not be between Barack Obama and appeasement before World War II, but rather between what he has done to the United States of America and what was done to Germany by its leaders before and during the war.

It will be a long time before America recovers from electing Bush not once but twice. We can begin in November by electing a new president and legislators who can restore our moral standard and respect around the world.

DAVID A. CIMINO

St. Petersburg

President Was Right
Senator Barack Obama was upset by the word "appeasement" during President Bush's recent remarks in Israel. He is a senator of the controlling party of Congress.

In 1938, when the phrase "peace in our time" was spoken, the controlling party in Congress was Democrat and advocated isolationism. On Dec 7, 1941, "a day that will live in infamy," the controlling party was Democrat when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and we entered World War II. In 1953, the controlling party of Congress was Democrat when it demanded that we enter talks to end the Korean War with a stalemate that is still in place today. In 1973, the Democrat Congress demanded that we enter into protracted "talks" with North Vietnam which culminated in the Paris peace treaty. The North Vietnamese waited about a year and attacked and conquered South Vietnam while we turned our backs.

Now, Obama is upset that his stand of "talking" to terrorist-supporting nations without reservations is criticized by President Bush. Once again, the Democrats demand that their presidential candidate not be held accountable for his remarks.

The president was right: Appeasement does not work. Our entry in World War II and our failure in Korea and Vietnam prove that "you cannot be reasonable with unreasonable people."

DON MILLIGAN

Lakeland

More Of The Same

The presidential race this fall will not be about John McCain or Barack Obama. It will certainly result in one or the other becoming the next president, but the race is about a vote to continue on the path laid down by the Bush administration or a vote for change.

Right now, the majority of Americans are opposed to the war in Iraq; not to "cut and run," but to execute an orderly withdrawal. The majority also is upset that our economy is on the verge of recession with record gas and food prices. Upset that 47 million people do not have health insurance and untold millions more are underinsured. Upset that the dollar has lost its value. Upset that the energy crisis has been ignored by a president with strong family ties to big oil who hadn't heard that $4 gas was on the way.

John McCain, despite his honorable military service, has a voting record aligned with Bush 95 percent of the time. He represents "more of the same" and simply cannot be elected.

JOE YARBOROUGH

Tampa

GOP Is In Denial

I find it entertaining but somewhat embarrassing to hear and watch the "in denial" Republicans and their pundits shamefully fib to themselves and everyone else in an attempt to shield their partisan political pride from the current anti-Republican climate. Maybe they can appease themselves for awhile, but untruths and slime are not going to stop the overwhelming tidal wave of justified disgruntled voters this round.

The writing is on the wall, but they refuse to look at it; they kind of remind me of the three monkeys - see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil.

Republicans have lost three straight special elections for House seats formally long held by their party in Mississippi, Louisiana and Illinois. The latter seat was vacated by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The desire for change doesn't get any clearer than that.

In the most recent loss in Mississippi, we found the GOP pulling out the big guns sending Vice President Dick Cheney to try and salvage a victory but instead the big gun just ended up shooting another Republican in the face.

The Democratic Party is recording record sums of voters outnumbering the Republican Party from the start in Iowa and continuing through every state.

WILLIAM ROBINSON

New Port Richey

Time For A Real Liberal?

Concerning Gary McCoy's May 14 cartoon depicting Senator Obama as a "big time liberal":

He must have missed the last eight years. We have been governed by a "conservative" foreign policy, leading to the war in Iraq; a "conservative" economic policy, leading to a huge debt; a "conservative" health care policy, leading to the breakdown of that system.

So exactly what was the point of that cartoon? That we should want more of the same? Maybe it is time for a liberal.

LEN COLODNY

Tampa

Arrogance Of Congress

Regarding "New Tax Proposed To Benefit Veterans" (Nation/World, May 14):

The arrogance of Congress knows no bounds; now it's proposing a new tax that will penalize achievers even more. If passed, it will charge 0.5 percent on incomes over $1 million, to which one congressman said, "They're not going to miss it." But the YMCA will miss it, the homeless shelter will miss it, the parish will miss it and the Girl Scouts will miss it. You see, when Congress passes new tax laws, it legally confiscates assets or income that would be spent on goods or services that citizens would choose themselves and not those chosen by lobbyists or bureaucrats.

Our veterans deserve every dime coming to them, but does anyone think that all of the proposed $51.8 billion will be spent on their care? It won't; the skim will go to special-interest groups, lobbyists and to pork-barrel earmarks. When will Congress answer for this arrogance?

STEFFAN F. CRESS

Tampa

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