Letters

The Howard Dean Factor

"Dean has the courage to do good things, to restore faith to the disillusioned and the ability to make us proud to be Americans again." DAN GALLAGHER San Diego

I believe Howard Dean to be just the kind of centrist we need in the White House [NATION, Aug. 11]. I'm tired of the bickering over whether a candidate is too liberal or too conservative. I'm interested in electing a President who has a record of compromise that will permit things to get done without giving too much leverage to special interests. Dean is a fresh face with fresh ideas. He speaks his mind and his convictions. He is not afraid to be branded un-American for saying what needs to be said. JEFF ANDERSON Brattleboro, Vt.

Dean is a reincarnation of Eugene McCarthy. This is not the time for Democrats to do a Don Quixote routine. They need to find a real candidate who can win and enable Bush to become the next baseball commissioner. TIM CROUCH Lubbock, Texas

Dean is by far the best choice on the issues of foreign policy, taxation, health care and the environment. But best of all, he comes on like a scrapper! I've had a bellyful of wimps. ARTHUR HAUPT Chicago

I deeply appreciated your article "The Cool Passion of Dr. Dean," but I must correct one thing. You said I seem to regard the use of U.S. military power with "a mixture of contempt and suspicion." I supported American military intervention in the first Gulf War and in Afghanistan, which I considered to be a matter of U.S. national security. I did not back President Bush's attack on Iraq because I thought that the American people were not being told the truth about the reasons for invading. I do not believe any President should be given blanket authority to invade another nation unless the President sets forth clear and truthful reasons. That does not make me contemptuous of using military power; it makes me a candidate who is more judicious in the use of U.S. military power than President Bush and many of my Democratic competitors. HOWARD DEAN South Burlington, Vt.

You overestimated the importance of Dean's opposition to the Iraq war. Dean's support isn't made up only of the antiwar left. He appeals to voters because he challenges the cowardly, disastrous strategy that the Democratic Party pursued in the 2002 elections when the party's leaders refused to fight Bush's shortsighted, meanspirited policies. Like many Democrats, I have felt voiceless because none of the Democrats in Congress spoke for me. Dean speaks up. He doesn't apologize for what he believes in. That's why he will have my vote. DOUG MUDER Nashua, N.H.

You misread the Dean voter. We are not all young, white, upper-middle-class, suburban, East Coast--educated liberals. Some of us--like me--are black, middle-age, urban and politically pragmatic. We understand that Dean is not the flaming leftist some say he is. We support him because he did not cynically back President Bush's Iraq-war gambit. Dean speaks out for what he believes; he's willing to tackle difficult problems and try innovative approaches to solving them. He's not perfect, he has his rough edges, and we supporters may not agree with him on some issues. But we believe wholeheartedly that he is the right man to lead this country. TERRY LAKE Hayward, Calif.

--Of all the pictures in our story on Howard Dean, the shot of the candidate in his disordered Vermont kitchen got the most comments. "How could a man who lives in such an appalling mess be expected to organize our country's business?" asked an Indiana woman. More approving was a woman from New York State: "I made my campaign contribution to Dean for a lot of reasons, but I knew my choice was right when I saw the photo of his kitchen. Those counters are as cluttered as mine are!"

Osama Who?

"Letting up on Osama" reported that the focus on the hunt for Saddam Hussein has derailed the search for Osama bin Laden [NOTEBOOK, Aug. 11]. The increase in terrorist warnings and bombings are all reminders that bin Laden is still a real terrorist threat. It is a travesty that President Bush has diverted our attention for his own personal vendetta against Saddam. He has got the U.S. into an Iraqi quagmire that will take years to resolve. MARY JO VEVERKA Bethesda, Md.

The Killing of Uday

You described in detail the military's hunt for Saddam and the killing of his two sons [WORLD, Aug. 11]. I was horrified by the description of the death of Uday Hussein, which said a soldier "pumped two bullets into Uday's mouth, to ensure his death." This was sickening. I reject the cold-blooded stalking and killing of anyone, even a murderous dictator and his family. This was an extreme example of American savagery. Why weren't Uday and Qusay brought to trial? MEG REYNOLDS Chicago

So Uday, a potential source of immense amounts of valuable information, could have been captured alive but instead was extrajudicially executed? This is a story that deserves more attention. ANDREW BRADBURY Santa Fe, N.M.

The Conservative Eye

In "Beware The Straight Backlash," Andrew Sullivan described himself as gay and politically conservative and decried the Bush Administration's hostility toward gay marriage [VIEWPOINT, Aug. 11]. Sullivan ought to know there are many Americans who accept gay marriage and who welcome gay associates, ideas and modes of behavior into their homes, lives and politics. These people are called liberals. Sullivan's problem is not that he's gay; it's that he has been hanging out with the wrong political crowd. He ought to quit spurning the hand of welcome and start working toward a liberal majority. It will be better for the country, better for the environment, better for the economy and better for him. JANE SMILEY Carmel Valley, Calif.

Since half of all heterosexual marriages end in divorce, I certainly don't think gay folks can do any worse. FRED BENZ Milwaukee, Wis.

Sullivan wrote that the TV reality show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy provides "a wonderful example of straight men and gay men communicating, laughing and getting along." I don't think the show is a step forward at all. In fact, it just reinforces existing gay stereotypes--the notion that gay men can be nothing more than fashion designers, hair stylists and interior decorators. I assure you, there are many straight people who can give a guy a complete makeover. This show widens the rift between "us" and "them." The program is just another attempt at exploiting a subculture for commercial purposes. JOHN DULEMBA Washington

What's in a Name?

TIME reported that in upcoming international trade talks, dozens of generic food names, such as feta cheese, basmati rice and Budweiser beer, may be restricted to their regions of origin [NOTEBOOK, Aug. 11]. Say it isn't so! What about French fries, Spanish omelets, Bermuda onions, Danish pastry and Belgian waffles? Will hamburgers come only from Hamburg? And frankfurters from Frankfurt? And what will become of Mom's apple pie? ESOR BEN-SOREK Rishon Le-Ziyyon, Israel