Inbox

Anointing Obama

I hope you will delve deeper than this glossed-over fairy tale about Barack Obama's upbringing and take up his invitation to address the substantive issues presented in his biography [April 21]. The article neglects to mention that Obama's father had children by four women and that he abandoned each of them in succession. Its odd statement that S. Ann Soetoro "decided not to follow" Obama's father back to Kenya neatly overlooks the fact that he was returning to Kenya (and his Kenyan wife and children) with an American wife whom he had married in Massachusetts after he left Ann and Barack in Hawaii. Had you set out all the facts, you might have meaningfully addressed some important issues related to race and culture. But such a study would require a frank discussion. Who will take up Obama's invitation to have one? S.J. Hangartner, PITTSFORD, N.Y.

I suggest TIME give up the charade and change the name of the magazine to Obama Weekly. The timing and tone of your cover story on Obama's mother made your April 21 issue look more like a campaign p.r. piece than legitimate news story. Something tells me I shouldn't hold my breath waiting for soft-focus, warm-and-fuzzy cover stories about the mothers of Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Katherine Whan, DECATUR, GA.

TIME's pro-Obama slant is so transparent that it seriously calls into question your objectivity in reporting the news. The picture on your March 10 cover with a halo of light around Obama's head looks like something out of a campaign flyer. Inside, there was the contrived photo of the Senator's well-worn soles, with a copy of his book in view, that looks like a modern-day version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The icing on the cake is your recent cover story "A Mother's Story," which serves as a convenient valentine to the Obama campaign just weeks before the Pennsylvania primary. Craig Garshelis, SAN FRANCISCO

Your April 21 cover story should have been titled "Raising Obama: A Grandmother's Story." It would have resonated more had there been more focus on Obama's life with the grandparents who raised him and less delicate tiptoeing around his mother's often unfortunate choices and impetuous decisions. Linda Dahlheimer, ST. LOUIS, MO.

Sure, you'll receive criticism for doing a feature article on Obama's mother. But we have all heard in detail about the lives of Clinton and McCain, including McCain's having been a pow. Thank you for giving us Obama's fascinating history. Guy C. Taylor, WAIPAHU, HAWAII

The article on Obama's mother--one of the best I have read--drags you into the complex worlds of poverty, biracial living, racism and the pursuit of knowledge. Obama knows these issues better than many or all of the other, born-with-a-golden-spoon candidates. Prabhduev Konana, AUSTIN, TEXAS

Ben Stein vs. Darwin

Here we go again: Ben Stein, a really bad scientist and mediocre economist, feels intelligent-design proponents have been slighted [April 21]. I will state the point again: scientists are uncomfortable with I.D. because it is a warm, fuzzy belief unprovable by any scientific method. Maybe Stein would like to propose a scientific methodology to prove I.D. It would have to be a doozy. Roy Senn, NEW HARTFORD, N.Y.

If you accept the theory of evolution, you accept that our genetic makeup, physical appearance and brain capacity are all related to our endeavor to survive and reproduce. Plants did not need legs to survive, and fish did not need hands. Humans, on the other hand, have a sophisticated brain that far exceeds what they need to survive and reproduce. I would like to see scientists research the brain capacity that various species need. If humans alone have evolved with capacities that far exceed what they essentially need, then intelligent design needs to be part of the story for us humans. Allen A. Platt, ROCHESTER, N.Y.

Bush's Crocodile Tears

Like every caring American, my heart goes out to the family of Navy Seal Michael Monsoor [April 21]. It sickens me, however, to see a photograph of George W. Bush with a tear in his eye over an Iraq war casualty. Monsoor's death and those of tens of thousands more did not have to happen. Bush and Dick Cheney are ultimately responsible for this tragedy. Steven T. Callan, PALO CEDRO, CALIF.

I cry every time I look at president Bush, knowing what his actions have cost this nation. Jinny Lee, MELROSE, FLA.

Farewell to a Hollywood Legend

My thanks to Richard Corliss for his essay on Charlton Heston [April 21]. If anyone under 40 wants to know why their older friends and family have such low regard for current Hollywood actors, Heston is one reason. He was a symbol of how America thought of itself: energetic, courageous, practical, resilient. No one in Hollywood can take his place. R.W. Harrington, DE PERE, WIS.

Mission Impossible

General David Petraeus' testimony before Congress reiterated what many military and political experts have been saying for several years: a military victory in Iraq is not possible, and because the political environment is so fractured by sectarian differences, a political victory remains questionable [April 21]. The Bush Administration never understood the culture and did not study the history of the Middle East. We are basically a Christian army waging war in an Islamic country. That was, is and always will be a formula for disaster. We should withdraw and let the Iraqis settle their sectarian differences without outside interference. Joseph Rizzuto, LOS GATOS, CALIF.

A Senior Moment?

Any particular reason Mark Halperin named folks who are all dead in listing McCain's peers [April 21]? No mention of Alan Alda, Robert Redford, Vaclav Havel or Silvio Berlusconi. Gee, I wonder why not. Jeffrey Barry, MARBLEHEAD, MASS.

Go South, Dude

As a reader who has just turned 21 and a Colorado native, I was excited to see Joel Stein's article on breweries in my home state [April 21]. I was disappointed, however, to find that the story makes no special mention of even one brewing company south of Denver. The state's capital may be considered the "Napa Valley of Beer," but our "playland of tasting bars" doesn't end at the city's limits. Emily Silver, COLORADO SPRINGS

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