Letters:

Democrats are criticizing Sarah Palin as - guess what - a hypocrite for accepting a $150,000 wardrobe purchased by the GOP from high-end stores. They say accepting such rich duds proves she is not the hockey mom she claims to be. What it proves is the exact opposite - that she needed the GOP to purchase the clothing she would need for 60 days of continuous media and public attention because she doesn't own that kind of wardrobe. It shows that Gov. Palin really is a regular person.

Bill Hickey

Meadowbrook

This is an open apology to Michael Smerconish. In my faulted view, you were a right-wing zealot and undeserving of the public "power of the pen" you enjoy. Nonetheless, your article last Sunday, "McCain fails the big five tests," stunned me and I am sure others. It was intelligent, articulate, and balanced with a breath of fresh air in the ad hominem atmosphere of this election.

Albert Whitehead

Philadelphia

It's troubling that "life" was not among the "big five tests" that Michael Smerconish used to grade the presidential candidates worthy of his vote. If he had, Barack Obama would have failed this one miserably.

Smerconish and others fail to see that our position toward life - including rights of the unborn - is a lens through which we must view all of our other concerns. The right to life upholds the fundamental principle of justice on which America itself is founded. When we fail to protect life, all other rights, such as health care, housing and education, are in jeopardy.

Stephen Majewski

Medford

Tony Auth's political cartoon last Sunday was right on the money. It is a mistake to believe the polls and allow complacency to set in. If all the newly registered voters, and all the young people who protest but do not vote, actually turn out, complacency will be defeated.

Ralph D. Bloch

Warrington

At last, one myth about the Barnes Foundation can be put to rest. Gov. Rendell let the cat out of the bag, admitting that Ray Perelman suggested moving the Barnes out of Merion 14 or 15 years ago, long before any neighbors' complaints emerged. The truth remains that neighbors have long resisted, and continue to protest, removing the collection from its beautiful home. The massive financial resources that foundations are offering to relocate the Barnes would be better spent preserving this treasure.

Ina Asher

Merion Station

Kevin Ferris should not confuse vanity with courage ("Steadfast and courageous," last Sunday). Joe Lieberman, like John McCain, has lost his bearings. McCain is not what he was in 2000, and neither is Lieberman. I think their only common bond is on Iraq and Iran.

Juris A. Balodis

Marlton

Is there a better example of how this Republican administration has bankrupted the ideals of America than killing a successful school food program in Philadelphia ("USDA kills school food program," Wednesday)? The administration considers any program to help poor kids an expense, not an investment. It is willing to spend billions on a bailout of poorly managed financial institutions but turns its back on children. America is about giving everyone equal opportunity, and if you are young and hungry, you are not going to get that opportunity.

Skip Corey

Wallingford

Having stated solid reasons for endorsing Rep. Joe Sestak for reelection, you go on to give it to Craig Williams, apparently for being a fiscal conservative and possessing a "star factor" gained from spending his high school years in Alaska and having a brother who wrote speeches for Gov. Sarah Palin.

Sestak has been a fine, and fiscally conservative, representative and is recognized as the most productive freshman congressman by his colleagues. Your endorsement of Williams is the weakest and strangest I have ever seen.

Thomas M. Vernon

Philadelphia