30 - Back to basics for Obama

The following letter was published on July 30, 2008 by
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, California

Re "In Berlin, Obama calls for unity with Europe," July 25

Barack Obama's speech before 215,000 Germans shows that glimmer of hope so many of us can see coming if he is elected president of the United States.

The lack of global respect for the U.S. can be traced to the disrespect for the international community President Bush showed when his administration decided to ignore so many during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq.

I believe those 215,000 people who showed up to hear Obama in Germany share what many Americans and others around the world feel right now. Maybe the America we all once knew will come back thanks to Obama's leadership.

29 - Glimmering hope

The following letter was published on July 26, 2008 by
The Houston Chronicle
Houston, Texas

That speech in Germany before 200,000 people by Barack Obama shows that glimmer of hope so many of us can see coming if he is elected president of the United States. The respect lacking around the globe for the United States might be traced to the disrespect for the international community the Bush administration showed when it decided to ignore so many during the lead up to the invasion of Iraq.

I believe those 200,000 people showed up to hear Obama in Germany to share what many Americans and others around the world feel at this moment in time: Maybe the America we all once knew will revive through his leadership.

28 - Global warming waits for no man - The energy crunch

The following letter was published on July 26, 2008 by
The Boston Globe
Boston, Massachusetts

Like many, my admiration for Al Gore for his work in bringing to the world stage the effects of global warming puts him among my greatest heroes.

Looking at the larger picture, global warming and wars are like two related cancers; both feed off greed.

We are running out of time. The next administration must put forth an effort toward steering the world in the direction of using our resources to stop wars with the same vigor Gore is using to get the world's attention on global warming.