Women in the 2010 Elections, the Gulf Oil Spill, and Obama's Response

Women Getting in the Game

Comparing the endorsements of Obama and Palin is interesting [“Women Flex Their Political Muscle,” June 11]. Almost everyone Obama endorses and stumps for loses. Almost everyone Palin supports wins. A November pattern emerging?

JIM WATKINS Pasco, Wash.

I sincerely hope that 2010 is the year when many women win elections. Women tend to be the outsidersin political circles. Women tend to understand that big ideas and plans have to be paid for. We need a Congress of public servants, not career politicians.

BETH GALLOWAY Maggie Valley, N.C.

Mandatory Voting Is a Bad Idea

The Obama presidency is evidence that too many ignorant people vote. Mr. Galston’s proposal for mandatory voting [“A Call for Mandatory Voting,” June 11] would simply make that situation worse. Instead of forcing people to vote, we should require that they earn the right to do so by showing that they have a clue.

LEW FLAGG Milford, Mass.

Conservatives Are Winning

“We’ve got corporate women winning as well as Tea Party favorites,” observes Editor Brian Kelly, as if to posit a study in contrasts [Editor’s Note, June 11]. Hardly. The simple fact is, conservatives did well on June 8. Those further and furthest left were rebuffed. As for a “corporate woman” outpolling a candidate further to her right, chalk this up to the electorate’s seriousness of purpose. In the words of Rand Paul on election night in Kentucky, conservatives mean to “take back our government” this fall. That means voting in one’s primary for the man or woman who can win in November. This ain’t rocket science.

LOU CARTIER Greeley, Colo.

Paying for the Oil Spill

BP is never going to pay the full costs of the spill [“Making Sure That BP Pays the Full Bill,” June 18]. The company will be bankrupt before the job is well started. The task ahead is to determine how much the taxpayers, via government, will spend versus how much the local economies will suffer. Do we let local economies collapse for decades or do we share the burden? We should be launching a massive reclamation program right now instead of the [ongoing] piecemeal efforts.

KENNETH VISTE Boise, Idaho

President Obama’s performance is abysmal and no more than political theater. Where is his help in getting federal approval for more spill-cleanup resources and for recommended sand berms to protect marshes? Also, what about a presidential waiver of the Jones Act to allow foreign-flag vessels to help with the spill and a federal mobilization of manpower resources to help with cleanup? With charges of neglect raging, he should be announcing action instead of kicking “ass.”

GEORGE WOMBWELL Carbondale, Colo.

Obama’s Job Performance

What do people want from our president [Editor’s Note, June 18]? Obama did not cause the oil leak, the wars in the Middle East, or the economic slump in our country—let alone the world. Isn’t it interesting that, according to people in other countries, Obama is doing a wonderful job? Do we want a president who shouts his anger, or do we want a president who is calm and rational in confronting the problems of our nation? I am extremely grateful we have the president we have in the White House.

GARY SCOTT Ocean View, Del.

• Check out a roundup of editorial cartoons on the Gulf oil spill.
  
• See which members of Congress get the most from the oil industry.
  
• See photos of the Gulf oil spill disaster.

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