To the editor:

It did my heart good to read a recent wire service article titled “Republicans less confident about Bush…”. Donald Rumsfeld has empathized “the casualties are unfortunate”; thereby winning the hearts and minds of the families of said “casualties” both here and in Iraq. John Ashcroft has taken his impassioned show on the road promoting the U.S. Patriot Act to a largely unfavorable crowd. Condoleezza Rice is to appear on Oprah, attempting to explain to this massive, enthralled audience just why spending $87 billion to rebuild Iraq is in all our best interest.

The White House leaks like a sieve. I smell desperation, and it stinks. Desperate men do desperate deeds. Bush’s photo op taken on an aircraft carrier is featured on the cover of Time. With the caption “Mission Not Accomplished,” it seems his hopes of using this very photo to grossly enhance his military accomplishments with self-propagation have been foiled. There are reports and polls in every major media outlet that show that even some of the staunchest Bush-backers are backing off.

It’s a sad commentary on the state of mind in America when it takes a major blow to our pocketbooks to make us look beyond our own little worlds and really see what is happening to our country. We must vote for change in leadership. The sweet smell of hope is permeating the air since the winds of change are beginning to blow. Let’s hope Bush’s Clean Air Act doesn’t poison it.

Doris Stine,

Lawrence