Letter to the editor

The more obvious it becomes that we, as a nation, are so far behind the curve in dealing with the complexity of the problems that beset us, the more frightening it is. You almost want to call in 'Dr. Phil' to make it all go away.We are now gearing up to select a new president in a little over a year and we, for the most part, are not all that convinced that any of the choices we are considering have what it takes to cut the mustard. Not to disparage any of the candidates of either party, but the issues facing us are unprecedented in their potential for horrendous disaster. We all know what they are and we all know there are no easy answers or quick fixes on the horizon. I believe that it behooves us to put aside personal party partisanship and this time around put in some serious soul searching in selecting the best candidate possible based on what he or she can bring to the governing table. Contentious issues like abortion, same sex marriage, and stem cell research, while important to many, are NOT critical enough to clog the flow of serious and immediate thought in dealing with perilous matters that threaten our very existence. Our enemies laugh when they see a potential president of the United States trying to fumble through an interrogation on how he personally feels about such things as allowing gays to serve openly in the military. There's a time and place for everything. Right now, at this time, we need a different kind of leadership capable of getting the nations of the world to, in Lyndon Johnson's words, "sit down and reason together".

Failing that, emulate Vito Corleone in 'the godfather' and "make them an offer they can't refuse". Would that it were possible to clone Teddy Roosevelt, whose policy of "speak softly but carry a big stick" might be just what the doctor ordered.

We all have a date with destiny in November of 2008. May we be glad we came.

George Morin
Auburn, Ga.