Web Letters: The Biden Bid

True, the Senator has been a corporate shill when that was the cool thing of the moment. We have, however, hopefully gone beyond the corporate "ameners" to a more rational trade moment in history. Even old Madeleine Albright was extolling the great moment that education and re-education could bring to this country's labor force, but how do you replace a job with legacy benefits at GM with a greeter job at Wal-Mart?

Ross Perot, remember him, and Mario Cuomo had it right, while the rest of us believed the idiots like Reagan, Clinton and Gore. Al Gore helped write the information bill for Microsoft and made himself millions. Clinton is a personal buddy of Bill Gates. These are all nice guys, but they really didn't care about labor.

I watched Warren Buffett fly back from China after a multimillion-dollar deal for cheap labor. It's hard to feel sorry for labor from 40,000 feet in your corporate jet. Ten percent of Americans own 80 percent of the country's wealth, and they are busy selling the other 10 percent to sovereign wealth funds.

George Bush I had it correct, I'm just jealous because I wasn't invited to the party. As a matter of fact I wasn't even a good American if I didn't have at least a billion dollars.

Trade is selling goods and services for more than they are worth produced by people working for less than they are worth. Ninety-cent sneakers from China selling here for $90. China's economy, a managed economy, is growing at 17-plus percent, while ours is piddling along at 1 percent.

I don't what the multiplier effect is of a production job is, but we have shipped ours out. Thank god for Orech.

JAMES PINETTE

Caribou, ME

I am always disappointed and surprised by the anti-trade fraction of the left-leaning comunity. Trade has done more to improve the wealth and well-being of the average Joe than almost anything else. Right now trade is distorted by special interests (especially the farm lobby), but that does not mean that trade is bad. I admit that when industries shift then some people lose their jobs, but this decreases costs to other consumers. I am appalled at the lack of re-education available to those who are displaced. But it is impossible to base a long-term strategy on protectionism.

Robert Cheetham

Friendswood, TX

The convention was my first "personal" introduction to Senator Biden. I concur with the Nation editorial. Senator Biden is far less than has been made of him, but he is also far more than I, for one, expected. He has qualities of character and inner reserves of strength such that I could say to a class of teenage boys, "You can learn something from that man about what is most important in life, what it takes to survive with your heart and courage and will power, and I dare say, soul, intact."

Christopher Sweet

Chicago, IL