The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Grace Under Pressure

8.14.07 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 5)

Keep your eye on the ball!
-- Owen H. Carneal, Jr.
Yorktown, Virginia

As long we are looking at "what if" and who might do well with all the shifts in the primaries, maybe we can start looking at shearing and pairings as well. If Senator Thompson declares his candidacy soon, he will be able to run well in South Carolina, and then, according to recent data, Romney is not likely to place in the top two spots there. A third or worse place run will effectively cripple Romney's candidacy.

Further, with Senator Thompson campaigning well in the south, he can threaten Mayor Giuliani's front running status, but as Ms. Rubin noted, after South Carolina comes Super Duper Tuesday where America's Mayor and the other candidates face a much less socially conservative constituency; Giuliani has an excellent chance to regain his front runner status and knock Romney out of the race completely. Once Romney is out, it is a two-man race between Thompson and Giuliani.

Certainly Giuliani is known well as wearing a thin skin, but as long as Thompson and his team don't make their adversarial pursuit of the presidency personal, Giuliani is wily and sagacious enough to know that a Giuliani/Thompson ticket could be highly appealing to voters across the political spectrum and geographical boundaries, similar to JFK, adding LBJ's southern appeal to Kennedy's Eastern Establishment bono fides. This would nicely offset many of the strengths of a Clinton/Obama ticket. Social conservatives may not be happy with their choices for president, but it is worth remembering that sometimes a fair entrée can be saved with the proper side dish.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York

BUY ME STATES
Re: Andrew Cline's 'Turnaround King' Mitt Romney Buys Iowa, Expects Huge Profit This Winter:

Vermont's for sale and I think it could be bought for less than New Hampshire. After all, the flatlanders and Yorkers have been buying it up for pennies on the dollar for years, I'm sure they'd be happy to sell some of it. The only dominant industry we have up here is government largesse, so it shouldn't be too hard.
-- Pete Chagnon

ANOTHER URBAN LEGEND
Re: Lawrence Henry's In Praise of Yuppiedom:

Don't understand the reason for that column. It was so trivial and the subject so frivolous that I was very surprised it was published.

"Men helped with the house." Wow!!

It is very enjoyable when there is humor in the articles as long as the subject is not inane.
-- Kevin Thompson
Sleepy Hollow, Illinois

WHEN READERS ATTACK
Re: William McNeill's letter (under "Imagine That") in Reader Mail's Building Bridges:

William McNeill's letter this morning in response to Lawrence Henry's recent TAS article perpetuated a pair of stereotypes that are objectionable. To be fair, Mr. Henry was similarly off the mark in citing Yuppies (whatever that really means) for a special role in urban renewal.

First, McNeill complains that AmSpec readers are not appreciative of gay men who have brought their talents and sensitivities to bear in rehabbing decayed urban buildings. I was simply not aware that it was armies of gay men who brought life back to the many of our cities. I foolishly thought that such cities have been gentrified by people of all types -- gay, straight, single, married, black, white, male and female. Most of us are just thankful for the hard work and investment of EVERYONE who has made many cities more livable. Gay males merit no more consideration than other people -- including Yuppies -- who have contributed to this effort and I would wager that most AmSpec readers (if not writers) feel no need to single out one type of person for special recognition.

Second, I have apparently been operating under the misconception that gays were (and should be) part of American society as a whole, virtually indistinguishable from the rest of us. Mr. McNeill dances perilously close to the line in suggesting that gay males are somehow better equipped to have conducted urban gentrification than others. The image of gay men with fabric swatches, antique lamps and tasteful art may be a stereotype best put behind us.
-- Deane Fish
Altamont, New York

SEITZMOGRAPH
Re: Russell Seitz's letter (under "Newsweak") in Reader Mail's Building Bridges and Paul Chesser's Newsweek: Alarmed by Deniers:

Letter to the Editor

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