Score one for Palin

There are a lot of people in our society who are in denial about drugs, alcohol, finances and especially politics! I coached high school sports for more than 25 years. In essence, looking at the scoreboard, I knew when my teams got whipped.

Sen. Joe Biden got beat badly in the recent debate with an intelligent and honest Sarah Palin. The Star should come to realize that Palin is for real! Give the lady her due credit. She is not on "political welfare" like most Washington politicians; she gives us the best breath of fresh air we have had in politics for years!

— Bruce Dempsey, Fillmore

Not stay-at-home mom

Why isn't Sarah Palin at home taking care of the family she created?

— Miriam Lefkowitz, Camarillo

No big-stage training

The one crucial difference between Sarah Palin and the other three candidates in the presidential race is not that she is a woman, but that until six weeks ago, she had never experienced a national campaign.

Joe Biden, John McCain and Barack Obama all began campaigning for president almost two years ago. All three have visited almost every state in the union, honing their policy positions in many debates and thousands of media interviews, gathering millions of dollars and sweating their way through the results of primary after primary.

For almost two years, they have subjected themselves to the fiery political crucible. When, during her debate with Biden, Palin rather plaintively said, "I've only had five weeks to do this," she was revealing the reckless gambler mentality of her coach, McCain, who, for reasons of glamour and sensationalism, threw Palin into a marathon without even training her for a 10K.

— Clive Leeman,

Ojai

Don't fault the teachings

Re: Bonnie Erbe's Sept. 4 column, "The running mate, teenage pregnancy and the pulpit," and Steve Greenberg's Sept. 4 editorial cartoon:

One of Erbe's concerns is Sarah Palin's "support for abstinence-only education in public schools and how well it seems to have worked within her own family." The cartoon drawn by Greenberg depicts in silhouette the profile of a pregnant girl or young woman with the words, "No sex education No contraception Abstinence-teaching only" appearing on the outline of the woman's dress.

Both Erbe and Greenberg express the same false conclusion: If a person received education on how to avoid something, but that something happens anyway, then the education must not work.

Suppose that I receive education on how to avoid burning my hand on the stove and the education consists only of instructing me not to touch the stove. If I then touch the stove and burn my hand, does that mean that the education doesn't work? Rather, does it not mean that I failed to apply that in which I was educated?

Likewise, if the woman depicted in Greenberg's cartoon and her male partner had applied what they were taught in abstinence-only education — i.e., abstained — she would have avoided becoming pregnant.

— John DeKeyzer,

Oxnard

The Alaskan experience

Re: Bill Robinson's Sept. 25 letter, "Alaska's an anomaly":

Robinson's premise is that through Alaska's uniqueness, Sarah Palin's job was decidedly easier, and less "qualifying" than Republicans would like people to think. His liberal bias invites comparisons he hasn't seen:

— Size. In Delaware, Joe Biden's home state, you can drive from the state capital to the most distant part of the state in 90 minutes. The most distant point from Alaska's state capital is 4,500 miles away, and you're not getting there by car. You don't think it's not more difficult to manage a business over such a great distance?

— Climate. I've lived in minus-82 degree weather in Fairbanks. Don't tell me that doesn't make a difference when running a business. And let's not talk about the effect of months of darkness on the human psyche.

— Distance. Shipments of goods from the Lower 48 encounter significant hurdles on a regular basis. Supplies of the most common goods can be short for long periods of time. That affects not just your business, but people's attitudes. Palin has an 80 percent favorability rating!

— Availability of work force. Let's just say experienced, well-educated labor is not always readily available. After all, as Robinson points out, we've got nearly 800,000 people right here in Ventura County.

Further, Robinson says, Alaska has no large cities. Anchorage has a population of 260,000. Delaware's largest city, Wilmington, has 72,000.

Alaska's budget is much larger than Delaware's or those of other states. I believe it's comparable to Arkansas' and Georgia's, yet, oddly enough, governors from those states were eminently qualified to be president!

What Robinson doesn't recognize is that Palin's experience at running a business in Alaska is far more qualification than someone who has never signed anyone's paycheck. He wraps up by asking how well Palin's experience in Alaskan politics prepares her for the challenges of many city and state governments.

I answer: "Better than that of a community organizer!"

— Bud Bockoven,

Moorpark

Stumping for wrong guy

Sarah Palin got it right in the debates when she said: "Americans are craving something new and different and that new energy and that new commitment that's going to come with reform."

That is why I will be voting for Barack Obama. She's got to stop stumping for Obama if she wants to get anywhere!

— Rachel Sanders, Thousand Oaks

Smears can backfire

As a lifelong registered Republican, it saddens me to see that John McCain and Sarah Palin have evidently chosen a new strategy: a smear campaign. The public, of course, can easily see through the attacks on Sen. Barack Obama.

Most of us will vote for the candidate who gives us reason to vote for him. We will not vote for a candidate whose main reason for voting for him is that his opponent is a person of questionable character.

McCain and Palin should get back on track and try to win this campaign fairly and for good reason. These nasty attacks will surely backfire.

— Alan N. Ringer,

Westlake Village