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Two Candidates, Two Styles

Re “Does Temperament Matter?”: Throughout his career, John McCain has shown himself willing to put others at risk to advance his career or his causes [Oct. 27]. Like President Bush, he is a person who shoots from the hip, invites conflict and sees compromise as a sign of weakness rather than a path to progress. His impulsiveness has been evident this fall in rash decisions such as selecting Sarah Palin and suspending his campaign. While his supporters call him a maverick, I call him reckless. And as the past eight years have shown, recklessness is not what we need in a President. We need someone with intelligence, composure, discipline and restraint. Robert J. Inlow, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

There is no question as to which candidate is qualified to serve this great country. McCain is ready to stand up and fight for our country and our freedom. He won’t just be “present” while looking cool and working on his next book deal. Sharon Peterson CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MICH.

Examining leadership style gives some insight into how the candidates might govern. McCain exhibits the characteristics of a troubleshooter. This type of leader tends to deal with the here and now, is action-oriented, sees problems as separate issues and is primarily reactive. Barack Obama is more of a visionary, seeing a bigger, intertwined picture. For example, the visionary would perceive energy as an issue related to our security, the environment, our domestic economy and foreign policy. The troubleshooter, McCain, tends to approach energy by proposing immediate fixes: opening areas for drilling, now; building nuclear plants; reducing restrictions. While style is no guarantee of competence, Obama’s fits the country’s needs. James A. Savage Jr., HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C.

Though many pundits accuse Obama of being too cool, I do think some of it is on purpose. Imagine being the first African American with a real shot at the job. A hotheaded, emotional approach could make many whites uncomfortable. If Obama is elected and does the job well, the next time an African American runs, he or she will be freer to act less controlled. Diane Lake, MACHESNEY PARK, ILL.

Which candidate has Gerald Ford’s fundamental decency? Both. Jimmy Carter’s discipline? Obama. Ronald Reagan’s sunny optimism? Obama. George H.W. Bush’s diplomatic instincts? Both. Bill Clinton’s intellectual curiosity? Obama. George W. Bush’s dogged determination? Both. The score: Obama 6, McCain 3. Victoria Brago, LOS ANGELES

Know Your Economic ABCs

The Only thing more confusing than the byzantine course Justin Fox traverses in asserting that McCain was right about the economy’s fundamentals being strong is his claim that Palin was “on to something” when she elaborated [Oct. 27]. Even a cursory look at high school math and science scores makes our workforce’s challenges more than clear–a point Fox ignores while lauding the productivity of our still shrinking manufacturing base. That’s a little like cheering the season-ending win by a losing team. Anthony Noel, GREENVILLE, N.C.

What the World Needs Now

I appreciated Michael Kinsley’s essay on the desirable leadership quality that is toxic to mention because of its allegedly élitist overtones: intelligence [Oct. 27]. I have long felt that U.S. presidential candidates, much like graduate students, should be subject to a preliminary examination in their area of expertise. Candidates should have some knowledge of, if not proficiency in, world history, religions, cultures, geography. As it is now, we assume the media and debates will ferret out deficiencies in candidates’ education that might lead to serious, perhaps deadly decisions–and that is not always the case. Marcetta Darensbourg COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

Kinsley is correct to say we need leaders brave enough to practice astringency, telling people what they don’t want to hear. But his example of a leader who was great because he was astringent–Winston Churchill–never won an election through astringency. Throughout the 1930s, when he was warning of the Nazi peril, he was almost uniformly rejected as a crank. He was not elected Prime Minister in 1940; rather, he was installed by a Parliament that deferred general elections until after the war. And when one was finally held, in 1945, the British people promptly voted Churchill out of office. We need not only great leaders but also a public great enough to accept their leadership. M.L. Cross, STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS

The New, Old Educational Trend

Great article on college-freshman living [Oct. 27]. In the early ’50s, I had the good fortune to attend the Emerson School for Boys, a small, private boarding school in Exeter, N.H., with four dormitories, each overseen by a resident teacher and his or her family if he or she had one. It was a marvelous experience. There was a lot of bonding and a superior education. We all studied, ate and played together and were expected to continue into higher education without a stumble or hiccup. What goes around comes around. Niles Getz, THE VILLAGES, FLA.

Health Insurance: No Shortcuts

The $30-per-month policy you describe should not be allowed in the medical-insurance marketplace [Oct. 27]. The very people attracted to it cannot afford the risk of a catastrophic illness. People should buy high-deductible insurance only if they have the savings to cover potential debt from a serious illness. Physicians and hospitals cannot afford to provide care for patients with these high-deductible policies because the risk that there will be no reimbursement whatsoever is too high. Doctors’ visits and hospital services are not free; everyone knows that. One can argue whether they are too expensive, but we cannot afford pseudo insurance with unrealistic terms and conditions any more than we can afford the consequences of the current mortgage meltdown. Jeffrey Kaufman, M.D. LONGMEADOW, MASS.

A New U.S. Volunteer Corps

Walter Isaacson persuasively presents the case for a Civilian Reserve Corps that would harness the skills of American engineers, doctors, judges and teachers to help in troubled areas [Sept. 22]. I am pleased to inform TIME’s readers that such a group, the Civilian Response Corps, is already coming into existence. The Corps will consist of Active, Standby and Reserve components. The Active and Standby components, which will be prepared to deploy abroad rapidly, will draw on the expertise and experience of U.S. government employees from eight departments and agencies. We are in the final planning stages for the Reserve. For Americans willing to make a commitment to service for a limited period of time, their experience with the Civilian Response Corps could change the way they see the world and, perhaps more important, change the way many in the world see us. The next President will have in his first year in office a new instrument to manage one of the principal national-security challenges of the 21st century. Ambassador John E. Herbst, Coordinator for the Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization, U.S. State Department WASHINGTON

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