To the editor:

And then I read that Barack Obama is elitist because he can put one sentence in front of another, eats arugula, is admired in Europe and Asia, and is a passionate speaker.

He is married to the same woman for 15 years and has two adorable daughters. After graduating from Harvard law school and editing the prestigious Harvard Law Review and turning down jobs from high-paying law firms, committed his life to public service and worked in community organizing for the less fortunate. He then ran for public office and the rest is history.

Is this not as patriotic as bombing Vietnamese rice farmers from 30,000 feet in a war that never should have happened?

As a veteran of the Vietnamese conflict, I shot at Vietnamese rice farmers from several hundred yards and face to face. I do not feel that I am more patriotic than John McCain or those conscientious objectors who stood up for their beliefs such as friends of mine from college, Tom Hayden, William Ayers or the score of sincere patriots who thought the war was wrong. We are all patriots.

And I read that John McCain is a regular guy. He survived huge travails in the POW camp in Hanoi and refused early release. This was heroic and will never be forgotten. This is not an example of a regular guy. He was one of many who showed heroism in such difficult circumstances; over 500 POWs.

He was from a military heritage. His grandfather and father were admirals in the Navy. Obviously, he lived a privileged life and attended the Naval Academy. Because of whatever, lack of focus or seriousness, he finished close to the bottom of his class. Yet, he entered flight school, which is generally reserved for the top of the class. Remind you of how President Bush skipped to the head of the line and received an appointment to the National Guard?

Is it a regular guy who, while still married to the mother of his children, has an affair with a wealthy debutante who is many years younger; and soon marries this heiress to a beer distributorship fortune. Is it a regular guy who, as part of the Keating Five, attempts to influence federal regulators in support of a campaign contributor? Is it a regular guy who has changed his positions on offshore drilling, campaign finance reform and a variety of other issues. Is it a regular guy who doesn’t know how many homes he owns? Is it a regular guy who has a campaign totally run by lobbyists?

Please, give me a guy who was raised by a single mother and lived in Indonesia, Hawaii, Kansas etc… and had the good judgment to speak out against the disaster in Iraq.

Give me a guy who is for national healthcare. Give me a guy who shoots three pointers while visiting the guys in Iraq.

Render Denson

Coupeville