A response to Robert Klaus's "Iowans are usually wrong" letter to the editor

With two plus years of campaigning, and regardless of who wins either nomination and ultimately the presidency, the news will finally have something else to talk about other than the primaries in less than 11 months. In the meantime, I feel compelled to respond, and perhaps will even pen a response if someone else does not, to another "letter to the editor."

This one, written by Robert Klaus of Milton, is titled "Fortunately, Iowans are usually wrong" and appeared on page 5 of the January 8, 2008 edition of the Delaware State News. As he is perfectly entitled to do, he gives his opinion on some of the current presidential candidates, namely Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards. I care as much about his opinions as he probably does of mine, but he can form them in any way he wants, and that's the way things are and how they should be. What bothers me is the misinformation he uses to form his opinions, and how his opinions may be used erroneously to misinform others.

Of Clinton, Edwards, and Obama, I agree that none are without their faults, and each have things they can bring to the table. Since he doesn't really speak of the Republican candidates, I'll focus solely on his argument about the Democratic ones.

Here's a thought: If Sen. Obama was a white protestant from California, who also had a Harvard Law degree and was a state senator for seven years before becoming a U.S. Senator, would this election even be close? If you think the answer is no, then what do his race, name, or religious beliefs matter?

I'm not going to do Klaus's internet research for him. And while perhaps I have become a little more colorblind in my old age, I'm not foolish to think there isn't still racism prevalent throughout this country. However, I am a little confused as to Klaus's position about the candidates. Are they really just going to vote for or against someone because they are of a certain sex or color? Perhaps, but I'm more inclined to think that for this particular election, the media would kill, politically, any person who tried to take that position or use it to influence potential voters. Nevertheless, it's already started to happen and I'm sure these "goofs" will continue over the next couple months. While that may be part of running for president, I just hope that this doesn't turn into a contest about race. There are far more pressing issues with our economy that need fixing first.

Klaus argues that "he is reticient about someone as inexperienced as [Sen. Obama] is. I think he has not been tried in stress situations as Hillary Clinton has in national politics and as John Edwards has in courtrooms." I would argue that experience is subjective and since everybody is linking the "change" argument with the "experience" argument now, I think Klaus needs to do a little more research. I further disagree with his contention that Obama is a black Muslim; according to Wikipedia anyway, he is a Christian just like the rest of the candidates. That's my point: make an informed opinion, don't speculate.

This next election is about getting our country back on track in terms of economics and world favor. The best candidate, and I submit, the winning candidate, is going to have to convince the American public that he (or she) is that person. And when it becomes clear next month who the two parties are going to run who believe they can do this, I suspect that come November, the American public will certainly speak out (by a clear majority) who they believe that person will be.

Tags: 2008 democratic primaries