Politicians

Recently, in a deviation from Standard Journalism Procedure, I've been talking with members of the public. We journalists generally avoid members of the public because they always tell us that we get everything wrong, although in fact what they're usually talking about is insignificant errors such as identifying James Baker as "the governor of Connecticut," when he is technically the mayor of Connecticut.So usually we journalists prefer to obtain our information about the public by watching it walk past our cafeteria windows.

Henry Cisneros, ex-mayor of San Antonio, the Hispanic superstar who crashed and burned, is coming to Baltimore for a commencement speech today. But I don't need to go. I see him in my bathroom every morning.An explanation may be in order. I was a reporter in San Antonio from 1983 to 1989. At a time when the whole city seemed to be buzzing about his rumored infidelities, the mayor appeared in one of Esquire's "Women We Love" issues, extolling the virtues of his wife. It was hard to decide if his audacity was appalling or admirable.

I can solve this problem of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants: Any politician who wants "illegals" to have tuition breaks should select one or two of the students and pay the tuition out of the politician's pocket, instead of the taxpayers pockets. Kathy Benton

Where is Bob Hope when you need him?Even his corny one-liners would have spiced up a four-hour roast Thursday for Richard J. Pappas, Harford Community College's departing president, that produced lots of politicians but few zingers."

Politicians are people too -- and that can put them in a tough spot. When Vice President Dan Quayle spoke as a father first and indicated to talk show host Larry King this week that he would support whatever decision his 13-year-old daughter would make about abortion, he found himself the center of another media feeding frenzy.And no wonder. The remark, a response to a hypothetical question, stood in stark contrast to the political platform he represents.Predictably, it triggered a barrage of ridicule from one side of the abortion debate and a responding round of defensive explanations from the other.

WASHINGTON -- Within the political community, the sky is falling. Or, at least, so it would seem from the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth. There is talk of a constitutional crisis if we don't certify a president soon. Among the voters, however, there is a remarkable equanimity. There are now four opinion surveys that find most Americans far from alarmed by the uncertainty. They want the choice of Vice President Al Gore or Gov. George W. Bush to be made by counting the votes in Florida, not in the courts or endless recounts elsewhere.

The result of the gun control votes in the U.S. Senate sickened me ("Defeat leaves gun control backers at a loss for strategy," April 19). It was so simple and would have made people throughout the country who have had their lives turned upside down by horrible acts of violence safer. I truly believe that the NRA has paid off many of our politicians and that this is something that should be investigated Vicki Dean, Columbia Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Regardless of how we got into this financial mess, no one group should have to carry the burden alone. Members of the legislature and the judiciary, for what they do, all get excellent health coverage and better than average pensions. I do not see anyone demanding that they should carry some of the financial load. They, like all public employees, feed from the same trough. Albert Jennings Jr., Baltimore

Why do politicians continue to take money and favors from developers and others? ("Kamenetz, council members got tickets from developers," May 2). Don't they realize how this looks and that favors are expected in return? One of the attorneys who represents a large land development corporation gave Orioles tickets to a Baltimore County councilman who has much influence on whether or not a big development gets cut back or not. A councilwoman, who got $732 worth of tickets says, "It was a nice treat for members of my family.

Your article on Marines in Afghanistan urinating on the dead bodies of their enemies was indeed disturbing - not because they did it, however, but because U.S. and Afghan leaders seemed to find it so "deplorable" ("Video of Marines defiling Taliban bodies stirs rage," Jan. 13). What I find deplorable is our young men and women coming home with missing legs or arms and so mentally messed up they can barely function. I find all these phony politicians condemning our troops while living safely in their homes in America deploring and disturbing.