Web Letters: A Noun, A Verb and POW

Dr. Butler is an intelligent and brave man and we should thank him not only for his courageous service to our country but his contribution to our society professionally. John McCain makes no apologies for his behavior as a young man and is forthright in his admission that he was never a great student.

Unlike Dr. Butler and the 600 or so other POWs who paid great sacrifice for our country, John McCain decided to run for public office, which as we all know requires an incredible opening up of one's own life to the public and the press. In addition to a loss of privacy, today's politicians must also endure the countless chicken dinners, and attendance to the wakes and funerals of constituents you may have never known--even if it means missing a birthday party or graduation for someone in your own family.

After enduring what he endured at the hands of captors, damage so physically noticeable by his inability to raise his arms above his shoulders, there was no need for John McCain to have to tolerate the ridiculous rigors of today's political scene--but he did. So unlike Dr. Butler, John McCain has decided to serve his country in government rather than enjoy a life of relative normalcy as an everyday citizen.

John McCain has already been through enough in his life on behalf of this country, so I give him much of credit for giving us yet more of his life. There are many Dr. Butlers out there who graduated at the top of their class and have the ability to contribute further to the governance of our nation but they prefer to stay at home--which is fine, so long as they don't complain about people like John McCain.

Frederick Sullivan

Boxford, MA

I agree wholeheartedly with the video. Senator McCain is not stable enough to be President and he has nominated a Vice President that frightens me even more. These two humans will be sharing the nuclear button and his bellicose response to the Russian invasion of Georgia is frightening. We don't have the moral authority, because of Iraq, to be that mouthpiece now. Thank God for France on this one.

JAMES PINETTE

Caribou, ME