The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 8)

C. Kenna Amos Jr. br> Princeton, West Virginia /p>

What surprises me about the statement, repeated over and over and unchallenged by the media, is John Kerry's "We had Osama Bin Laden 'cornered' in the mountains of Tora Bora" and didn't move in on him. Cornered means no way out. My understanding is that it is honeycombed with tunnels. Moreover, Tora Bora is not the Poconos or the Big Rock Candy Mountain. "Tora Bora" probably translates to "Double Rubble Tunnel-Riddled Rat Maze." Of course it could be argued that if we had had the bomb power on a given day to reduce the rubble to pea gravel, we could have had Osama bin Laden and his faithful pushing up daisy cutters in short order. Considering OBL's front door is just another boulder on the rockscape, you can roll away a lot of rocks and still come up empty.

The other "Hide in plain sight" option favoring OBL is the burka, still favored by some women, post-Taliban. As we have our DON'T VIOLATE THE VEIL" rule regarding that Muslim King's X territory, OBL could be sashaying to market daily in Kabul peering coyly through his tiny lattice work window at all the men admiring the tall, willowy new babe in town.

p>Just look how long Elizabeth Smart moved freely about Salt Lake City, wearing that head garb that revealed only her eyes. And when you think about it, we never found D.B. Cooper. br> -- Diane Smith br> So. San Francisco, California /p>

William Tucker is very much correct in his evaluation of President Bush's performance in the first debate last week. As much as I wanted "W" to bury Kerry in this head-to-head, and essentially put the contest between the two out of reach, I knew that, when it had finished, the debate was Kerry's and that he'd live to fight another day. Unfortunate, but true. Bush was far too repetitive on certain points (as indicated by Mr. Tucker) and pulled his punches when he touched on subjects like Kerry's vacillations on key issues.

p>My wife and I were fortunate to be at the President's rally in Cuyahoga Falls (our community's next-door-neighbor) last Saturday, and after we withstood a 2 1/2 hour rain, we were treated with clearing skies and sunshine when the President arrived. We were not disappointed in what he had to say, as he was focused and clear about every item he espoused. Yes, it was a prepared speech, but it still embodied what "W" is all about, and had he made use of these points during the debate, the outcome would have been much, much closer, possibly even a victory in his case. Simply put, you may be a smooth and slick ("oily" is the word that readily comes to mind) debater, capabilities honed and polished through high school and college, but it certainly doesn't turn you into a capable leader. As a debater, one learns to be able to argue one side of a theme, and then turn around and argue the opposite side within a matter of moments. And it's this trait that has allowed Kerry to establish himself as a gold-plated flip-flop artist and not as a leader. br> -- Jim Bjaloncik br> Stow, Ohio

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