George,

I feel it's really too early to make up my mind about any of the Democratic candidates for President, except to say that all of them are better qualified than the incumbent. Dennis Kucinich had the vision to recognize the Iraq war was a phony and that's a valuable trait. Recall only two Democrats voted against the Bay of Tonkin resolution, both outstanding men. (Gruening and Morse.) If the country had had more of their caliber, there would be fewer graves in Arlington today.

But Dean looks and acts more presidential than Kucinich; you can envision him in the Oval Office; so for right now I've got a bumper strip on my car that says "Dean." Dean also seems like a better campaigner than Al Gore, and let's remember that Gore beat Bush, at least in the popular count. So why shouldn't Dean do it, too?

All best,

Sherwood Ross (electronic mail, September 2, 2003)