Don’t blame Bush for Congress’ war
Once and for all, the war in Iraq was not “Bush’s war.” Those not old enough to know or those who choose to forget should brush up on the facts. Bush depended on experts, Iraqi citizens, military leaders and intelligence to make a judgment. Then and only then did he go to Congress to ask them for a “yes” or “no” vote. In that august body, they studied the evidence, and 70 percent voted for the war. Among them were Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Charles Schumer, John Kerry and John Edwards. So please quit referring to the war as the fault of George W. Bush. He was simply doing what leaders do, and that’s to gather the facts. He did not make the final decision; Congress did.
MEL MATUSZAK, DACULA
Borrow, build so beneficiaries pay
Paul Krugman argues the value of increasing the country’s debt (“Debt is good,” Opinion, Aug. 23). His reasoning may make sense to economists, but there’s a more compelling argument to justify payment for infrastructure improvements through borrowing. When we build a bridge, school building or sewer system over the next couple of years, the people who will benefit from that infrastructure are those who will use it for the following 20 to 30 years. People who enjoy the benefits should be the ones who pay for it. The only way to get those people (and you and I might be among them) to pay for the infrastructure is to borrow the money and obligate the citizenry (us) to pay it back. If infrastructure and its maintenance are good for society, we should build and repair, and we should do it with debt.
ED JACOBSON, DECATUR
Trump’s brilliance as negotiator seen
Donald Trump is a successful businessman and an excellent negotiator. Part of the art of negotiation is to start off asking for more than what you expect to get. Then, through give and take, you reach a compromise everyone can agree on. Some of Trump’s positions may seem extreme to some people (for example, “Deport all the illegals”). But we certainly need to have a national debate (negotiation) on these subjects. Perhaps Trump is trying to start the discussion, asking for more than he expects to finally get, just as any good negotiator would do. Then, we will eventually settle on a more moderate solution most people can accept. It sounds like a brilliant strategy to me.
BILL WHITLOW, AUBURN
