Letter to the editor

I believe it was Alexander Pope who coined the phrase, "to sin is human, to forgive is divine". One thing for certain is that this phrase is not in the lexicon of political campaigners. At this juncture of the race for the presidency, not much 'forgiving' is going on, but every candidate is being accused of "erring" by his or her opponents. For example, while Senator Obama's defense of his Pastor's incendiary rhetoric is on the one hand, considered noble in its show of loyalty, it is erring in that he waited too long to distance himself from what the Pastor said about race relations between whites and Blacks, especially the accusation that AIDS was deliberately inflicted upon Blacks in a form of ethnic cleansing. Whether it was a poor judgment call on Obam's part or just a wistful desire to spare his Pastor, a man he has held dear for a long time, it might just be the one thing to derail his candidacy. Hillary Clinton and John McCain are on a fast track to abandoning the 'high road' too and we can expect the mud to fly like cow pies in the coming months. So what's new in all this?

Actually, nothing, except that there has never been a time when leadership has been more needed and while "erring and forgiving" may have a nice ring to it, facing up to and solving the problems that confront us is where the real deal lies. Barring that, Ralph Nader may come riding in like the Lone Ranger, shouting Hi Ho Silver and awayyy.......and that would be one error nobody could forgive.

George Morin
Auburn, Ga.