To the editor:

I’m not sure why Friday’s editorial, “Wrong focus,” expresses surprise at the single-mindedness of the voting public. The current batch of elected officials played on either abortion or gay marriage for votes. Now fear is being cultivated since the moral high ground is out. Recently in Topeka to raise money for Jim Ryun, Vice President Cheney grimly warned of death and destruction should voters choose Democrat over Republican.

Maybe the focus on an individual’s moral failure is easier for those with whiplash from tracking reports of scandals, misdeeds and ineptitude. Don’t blame President Bush for international mayhem? Yes, the area has long been a powder keg. Already primed for ignition, Bush lit the fuse with Iraq, fanned the fire with arrogance and condescension, and continues to fuel the growing conflagration.

Respected authorities point out, again and again, failures in diplomacy, tactics and honesty from this administration. A story in the Oct. 1 Journal-World reported the creation of a counter-insurgency center at Fort Leavenworth to reassess training and strategy since “an insurgency lives because of a void in the political process.” Democrats saying the same thing continue to be maligned with cut and run cliches.

How many lives must be sacrificed to policies that heighten instability in a world teetering on the edge of overwhelming disaster? If it takes focus on a single congressman’s transgression to vote out the word wizards in Washington piping us over this cliff, so be it. I hope it’s not too late.

Lisa Bailey,

Lawrence