Letters to the Editor
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Less Editorialing and Mockery Please
I have read a large number of Walter Shapiro's columns and reports on salon.com and find him usually palatable, but often annoying. This latest report on the "debate" among the Democratic contenders is more than usually loaded with Shapiro's editorializing, sneering cynicism, and armchair mockery masqueradimg as commentary. It's one thing to give the horse laugh to a candidate who puts a foot in his/her mouth - witness the recent gafs by Giuliani and McCain - but another to sneer at the ones who are trying to say something serious and valid. In contrast, I appreciated Gary Kamiya's response (above) to the Shapiro article. It was well written, factual, and informative, as are all of Kamiya's, but Shapiro seems so intent on being the know-it-all wise guy that his attitude seriously detracts from the story. These "debates" are always politically calculated shows, certainly, but it's awfully early in the race, so why don't all the bloviators give the honest candidates a break ?