Letters to the editor for Thursday, Oct. 9

Some of the earlier presidential and vice-presidential debates have had a defining moment, like when Ronald Reagan said, "There you go again" to Jimmy Carter. Or when Lloyd Bentsen told Dan Quayle, "You're no Jack Kennedy."

We had one Tuesday night when Sen. John McCain was describing an energy bill he didn't like. He asked rhetorically who voted for it. Then, pointing in the direction of Sen. Barack Obama without looking at him, he said, "That one."

Despite coaching, McCain cannot conceal his personal animosity toward Obama. Obama just smiles and takes it, looking more and more presidential while his opponent starts nervously pacing the stage.

ROLF E. WESTGARD, ST. PAUL

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Barack Obama still is not saying how he will fund his health care program. Read his Web page on the issue. It suggests funding it by wealth distribution. That is communism. He says it is our patriotic duty.

KAREN WALTERS, MINNETONKA

Philosophers and logicians have long taught that guilt by association is a fallacious argument. Nevertheless, in recent speeches, Sarah Palin and McCain attempt to smear Barack Obama with his acquaintanceship with William Ayers, who undoubtedly committed some crimes 40 years ago. To describe the joint service of these two men on charitable boards decades later as "palling around together" is laughable and reflects a desperate strategy.

The centerpiece of Christianity is redemption. Do they who preach redemption and forgiveness every Sunday propose that we deny it to anyone whose political views do not mirror their own? More to the point, what would it take to satisfy these religious fanatics' standard of redemption? Does Ayers' laudable work to improve public education and authorship of 15 books on the subject count for anything? Treating Ayers as a rehabilitated person, as Obama has, is not proof of anything except his Christian faith.

MARY MCLEOD, ST. PAUL

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What is it called in law when a public speaker repeatedly elicits audience responses like "Traitor! Kill him!"?

Whose job is it to close down this kind of inflammatory, dangerous rhetoric?

I hope that somewhere in America someone will answer these questions. Soon.

MARY PATTOCK, MINNEAPOLIS

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Weather Underground cofounder Bill Ayers, convicted slumlord Tony Rezko, disgraced Fannie Mae officer Franklin Raines and the America-hating Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

JOHN ODEEN, BURNSVILLE

Really, was that front-page headline necessary ("WHERE WILL IT END?" Oct. 8)? Have you ever considered how your words affect the economy? While the media wring their hands, the rest of us are going to work as always. And that's what we should do. We have to work our way out of this mess. Please exercise a little restraint with your headline writing and reporting.

CYNTHIA SOWDEN, MINNEAPOLIS

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While families pinch pennies, getting clothes at rummage sales and food at emergency food shelves, executives at AIG have the guts to take an $85 billion bailout and then rush off to a $440,000 weeklong retreat at a California beach resort. Are we reduced to "Eke-onomics vs. Sneak-onomics" in America? While the foxes in Washington guard our hen houses, does anyone have our backs?

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar has learned the game of partisan politics well. In "Let's stop the next crisis before it even begins" (Oct. 6) she writes that "America's current financial crisis is an indictment of eight years of failed economic policies from the Bush administration." She then goes on to explain that the problems are systemic and go back for decades. (That is more than eight years).

There is plenty of blame to go around, not the least of which is a Democratic Congress that blocked attempts by Congressional Republicans to tighten economic controls for subprime mortgages. Klobuchar is correct: We do need new updated controls that cross lines of banking, insurance and investments, but the real roadblock is still a partisan Congress.

STEVE FRANTA, WAYZATA

Al Gore said last weekend that voters should kick out the Republicans this year (Star Tribune, Oct. 5). Somebody should have told him that he is a little bit late as that was done two years ago when Democrats took control of both houses of Congress.