George,

I certainly hope no Democratic candidate for President attaches his campaign to the half-baked statistics of retired Texas sociologist Robert Cushing.

He has shown only that during a recession, the all-volunteer army attracts slightly more volunteers from areas with less job opportunity than from areas with more job opportunity. That this concerned him and he misinterpreted it tells us that some Texas sociologists have no more smarts than some Texas governors.

Cushing missed the obvious. We should not.

And more than that, nothing could more assure a Bush re-election than for Democrats to endorse the draft. Everyone agrees it's horrible that volunteers are dying in Iraq. Forcing non-volunteers into uniform to die alongside them leads to neither popularity nor justice.

We already saw that liberal voters in Rep. Charles Rangle's district and Charlottesville cannot keep George Bush from the White House. Let's not be slow learners about this.

Bush is now the most beatable Republican in modern times but liberals can change that by worrying the heartland voters who will decide this. Democrats must be a better alternative, not another flavor of bad.

Bush means poor policies, no planning, and bad luck. Stay focused.

Rey Barry (electronic mail, November 19, 2003)