Letters: Is his biography our destiny?

[illinoisprogressive]

Those who feel safer with Hillary Clinton’s old-school “big stick” diplomacy than with the kind of intelligent use of “soft power” that Barack Obama endorses are living in the past. Our experiences in Vietnam and Iraq have established that use of force does not necessarily lead to beneficial results. What a President Obama would offer is a new avenue to power and respect, not through military might, but through cooperation and understanding. There is no strength more powerful than countries and peoples working together for the common good; and in the face of the dire threats we all share — from global warming to desperate acts born of social inequity — such cooperation can occur none too soon.

TOM MILLER

Hanoi, Vietnam

I know that there is concern about Barack Obama’s lack of experience and that Hillary Clinton has worked to make a point of this (James Traub, Nov. 4).

But the years of experience that our current vice president brought to office didn’t seem to help him sort out where the enemies resided or how to deal with them effectively.

Barack Obama is one of the contenders who has captured my interest. He has surrounded himself with bright, seasoned advisers. I’m not worried about his inexperience. I hear his intelligent, tempered responses to issues. The United States has an enormous amount of international repair work to do.

DIANA MANDELL

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18letters-t-2.html?ref=magazine

[BenDavid]

1. "He has surrounded himself with bright, seasoned advisers": this

and "I’m not worried about his inexperience" is what got this country in the shape it is in today. The MSM decided Bush did not have to be the smartest man in the room because he had the grownups(aka smart advisors) that would help him. Well we have seen where inexperience and a shortage of knowledge has taken us since 1-20-01.

Ben David