Letters

THE MAN WHO COULD BEAT GORE

"Any presidential candidate who drives a 1984 car has my vote! Bill Bradley speaks to the goodness of the American people." JOHN MARTIN West Hartford, Conn.

With Bill Bradley running for president [CAMPAIGN 2000, Oct. 4], Americans have the opportunity to elect a man of extraordinary stature, brilliance, experience and, above all, wisdom. Rather than insulting us with the usual glitz and pizazz, Bradley challenges us to understand and confront the real issues. NANCY McK. CRIBARI Rowley, Mass.

Bradley knows this is the right time to offer his leadership gifts to our country. He is an exemplary role model for our children. Bradley possesses a tough mind and a tender heart. His honesty and sincerity make him the "people's choice." Like Abraham Lincoln, Bill Bradley was born to be President. PAUL L. WHITELEY SR. Louisville, Ky.

Although Bradley wraps himself in a mantle of Scottish-Irish virtues, he cannot conceal the fact that he's just another tax-and-spend liberal Democrat. Doesn't he know the most venerated ideal of the Scottish Irish is thrift? SANDRA McKAY QUESENBERRY Clinton, Ohio

Are the media missing a revealing factor in Bradley's campaign for the presidency? You reported on such telling elements as his need for solitude, detachment and introspection. While these traits are admirable enough, they are not the critical ones needed for an individual who aspires to be President of the U.S. and leader of the free world. Such an awesome environment is not the place for anyone who seems more comfortable with the contemplative life. ROBERT SABBATO JR. Mifflintown, Pa.

We in Canada have more than a passing interest in the future President of the U.S. Please elect the type of individual who will represent the spirit of freedom of choice for all. Why do the American people continue to be inundated with secondhand intellects in the theater of American politics?

The only real candidate out there thus far, John McCain, is enigmatic and probably too straightforward to cope with the vital internationalism of the presidency. Gore is due for an early retirement package. He has never been his own man, relying too heavily on polls, as Clinton does. That is anathema to leadership. Restoring America as the cure-all for the free world's problems will be of benefit not only to Americans but also to everyone else around the globe. MIKE BOUCHARD Burlington, Ont.

The media seem genuinely affected by Bradley's quixotic idealism. You reported that Bradley can get "cranky" on the campaign trail. Thank God! Any candidate who could endure the American political circus and not get cranky doesn't deserve my vote. Further proof for this 26-year-old that the Bradley revolution is real is that Bradley is not only "The Man Who Could Beat Gore," he is, quite simply, the Man. JOSEPH BEYER North Hollywood

It would appear that Bradley, a brilliant Midwestern intellectual, is the tall man's Adlai Stevenson. Bradley even has Stevenson's famous "egghead." MARGARET JANE KEPHART Boulder, Colo.

Bradley is a man of great decency and accomplishment. I'm thrilled. Move over, Al Gore! Look out, George W.! CONNIE PEPPER BUTURAIN Cincinnati, Ohio

Bradley may not be what America wants, but he is what America needs. GARY L. REEVES St. Charles, Mo.

R.F.K. SAID IT BETTER?

TIME quoted Bill Bradley as saying, "The Dow Jones is at record heights," but "such numbers are not the measure of all things. They do not measure what is in our heads and our hearts. They do not measure a young girl's smile or a little boy's first handshake or a grandmother's pride... They tell us little about the magic of a good marriage or the satisfaction of a life led true to its own values." Robert Kennedy said it better in February 1968: he referred to the fact that the gross national product was rising above $800 billion a year but said that figure does not measure "the health of our youth, the quality of their education or the joy of their play... the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials... It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." ARTHUR SCHLESINGER JR. New York City

TROUBLE IN GORE COUNTRY

So the vice president has image problems [NATION, Oct. 4] because of his misstatements, a dull personality, an embryonic platform, an underfunded presidential race and his living in the shadow of a strong President? Well, move over, Dan Quayle; make room for Gore! JOHN HARPER Lufkin, Texas

Yes, several million of us love and trust Gore. But in our hearts we know the only Democrat who has a chance to beat Republican front runner George W. Bush is Bradley. Keep the tailgate down, Bill. Lots of us are trying to hop on. FRANK MANN Alva, Fla.

CONFUSION OVER FACT OR FICTION

Edmund Morris' Dutch, the so-called biography (excuse me, "memoir") of Ronald Reagan, manages to smear unfairly not only the 40th President of the U.S. but the writing profession as well [NATION, Oct. 4]. Your reviewer stated, "In the end, however, the fact/fiction bipolarity erodes some of the book's brilliance." There is no brilliance here; there is instead a cunningly conceived attempt and intent to deceive. The interweaving of fact and fiction has no place in a biography. Truth has a place here. And fiction is not truth. Morris' cowardice is evident, since he well knows that his subject can no longer defend himself. LARRY SIRINSKY Skokie, Ill.

Shakespeare already had the perfect title for a Reagan biography: Much Ado About Nothing. ESTHER G. KORETZ Henniker, N.H.

When Reagan was first elected president, Americans wanted desperately to be reassured that their country was the best, regardless of the facts. Reagan's blend of fact and fiction, his easy manner and his confident disregard of reality led him to unflinchingly say what America wanted to hear. Morris' confusing mixture of the real and fanciful exactly fits what was the reality of Reagan's America. RAY DIRKS Winnipeg, Canada

Reagan manipulated the American public, adorning his pallid political views with slogans and platitudes. He was incredibly ignorant of American public policy. And that's fact--not fiction. DON RADEMACHER Glendale, Calif.

With the publication of Morris' biography, the media have once again jumped at the chance to rekindle their Reagan bashing. Reagan was not a simpleton; he just had a simple message. He wanted to free Americans from excessive government, and he wanted to win the cold war. Reagan's message may not have been complex enough for the intellectuals, but at least he didn't put his finger to the wind and take a poll before making decisions. I will always respect him for being a man of convictions. BILL CLINGER Harpster, Ohio

Ronald Reagan certainly deserves at least an Academy Award for acting like a U.S. President. JOSEPH B. MIRSKY West Palm Beach, Fla.

BENDING HISTORICAL TRUTH

In his informative analysis of the recent spate of fictionalized memoirs [ESSAY, Oct. 4], Charles Krauthammer bewails "how far we've come in bending the notion of historical truth." One cannot help wondering why he did not mention the four most widely known examples of apologetically inspired fictionalization: the canonical Gospels. Krauthammer's examples of "brazen confabulators who make up their histories and the slavish academics who justify them" are simply following the examples of the ancient Evangelists and the modern Evangelicals. What goes around comes around. THOMAS W. HALL JR. Foster, R.I.

DUNG-COVERED MADONNA

Hooray for New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for denouncing the dung-covered Madonna collage being exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and for attempting to cut off public funding for the museum [NATION, Oct. 4]. Our society needs more courageous, moral people like Mayor Giuliani to stand up against the filth that is constantly being thrust upon us by left-wing liberals in the arts and entertainment. AUGUSTUS S. HUSSELTON Harrisburg, Pa.

Once again New York's bully-boy Mayor has demonstrated his disregard for the Constitution by his cynical manipulation of religious sensibilities for selfish political ends. The Brooklyn Museum is fulfilling its mission; Giuliani's only aim is personal aggrandizement. MICHAEL A. JAMES Los Angeles

Can you imagine the reaction if the following icons were going to be exhibited in a New York City museum: an image of Martin Luther King Jr. smeared with dung, an image of Muhammad or of the Star of David befouled with dung? KEN KELLER Pewee Valley, Ky.

EINSTEIN'S TROUBLING BEHAVIOR

After reading the revelations in the book Einstein's Daughter about the physicist's illegitimate child [HISTORY, Oct. 4], I felt it was tragic that Einstein chose to pursue his career plans and left others to care for his newborn daughter. I have always had great respect for Einstein's brilliant scientific accomplishments. Sadly, his character flaws were just as enormous as his intellect was exceptional. Ultimately, proof of his selfish behavior will diminish Einstein's legacy. Instead, he will become a prime example of how men can master difficult branches of knowledge but lack the wisdom to love their families. BRENT MUIRHEAD Alpharetta, Ga.

Your writer concluded his piece on Einstein by stating, "That he was a flawed human being is not only fascinating in a tabloid sort of way but reassuring as well. It makes our heroes, even those of unfathomable genius, seem a little more like us." If saying that of Einstein works, then it also works for Clinton. LYNN STEPHAN Wichita, Kans.

CELEBRATING CHINA'S 50TH

Reading your report on China's 50th anniversary [WORLD, Oct. 4], one would think Maoist China was a disaster. But when I visited the People's Republic in 1971, I saw something different. Peasants and workers were transforming their lives. China was looked to admiringly by people worldwide. What a difference from today's China, where once again extremes of wealth and poverty are creating degradation and misery. MARY LOU GREENBERG New York City