KISS - did I manage to respond that way to this LTE in a way that makes a little dent?

This woman gave her address. She lives in a high dollar gated community of the impenetrable kind.


Published: January 29, 2009

I am a Republican, but so excited and looking forward to the changes that will be made to inspire this nation. President Obama's inauguration speech was spectacular and addressed all races and religions and other nations.

The speech lost its luster for me when he undermined President Bush's choices and the actions he took. Yes, the economy, the war and the stock market have weighed heavily on American minds. They have made most of us fearful of what to expect in the future, much less in the next day. Until you walk in another man's shoes, you do not get the right to second-guess his decisions.

President Bush, too, most likely wonders "what if?" But I am sure that in his heart and with the intelligence and facts given to him at the time, he made the best decisions that he could. We were not there, nor was Obama. This, too, will be a reality four years from now for Obama.

I wish Obama the utmost gratitude for the challenges he is undertaking. We are all looking to him to answer these challenges. What pressure and responsibility must weigh heavily on his mind.

Again, it is not another person's to judge (especially of a president when decisions are made in a crisis or are vital to freedom, as mentioned in both presidents' speeches). The nuclear crisis in Iran will again present a problem that no one really has answers to. Diplomacy or action?

STEPHANIE WARK


My response

L e t t e r t o t h e E d i t o r

We can't have it both ways.

Stephanie Wark's letter (Jan . 28- “Looking forward to changes”) reminds me of the bizarre unsubstantiated endorsement the Journal gave to Senator McCain's run for the Presidency while simultaneously praising Barack Obama to the hilt.

Ms. Wark says she is "excited about changes to inspire this nation", and then criticizes President Obama for his inauguration speech where he is “undermining the contribution President Bushes choices have made to the economy, the war and the stock market”.

She wants these choices excused because “we do not walk in another's shoes and should not second guess decisions" and “we were not there” when they were made.

Well, I for one was there. Many of us were, who were paying attention. With protests against wire tapping, the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, no-regulation & no-oversight economic policies we helplessly watched as the conservatism practiced by the neo–conservatives failed on all fronts and those very choices began to eviscerate the middle class.

That is why the Democrats won Presidency, House, and Senate decisively and can now start to arrest the declines and begin to re-build the Nation.

If you see your teenager trashing the house and then burning down the shed will you not call him out on it as you proceed to clean it up?

That's what is happening in Washington, and the more President Obama explains to us what he is finding and has to do, the more we can support him to improve our collective lot.

Ex-President Bush and his team have utterly failed us, which is why, I suppose, Stephanie Wark is “excited about the changes”.

Excellent letter!

not only were we there to watch but we marched. It's a good feeling to have a little feedback, I live alone and question sometimes why I react the way I do.