Clinton's attack
Ruth Conniff's opinion column "From Dreams to Nightmares" (3/7/08) on the damage that Hillary Clinton could do to a progressive vision brings to mind this prescient Onion headline of three years ago: "Could Hillary Clinton Have What It Takes to Defeat the Democrats in 2008?"
Unfortunately, it seems that if Clinton has her way the answer is "Yes, she will."
Clinton is playing a dangerous game by posing "experience" rather than judgment as the most important characteristic of a presidential candidate. If there's any good that can come of this, it is that her criticism will steel Barack Obama for the same line of attack from Republicans. It's good preparation for facing John McCain.
Chris Deisinger
John Adams: Unfit!
At the core of our judicial system is the belief that a person has a right to legal counsel. It is so American that in 1770 John Adams put his reputation on the line to defend the five British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre.
People like Louis Butler admire John Adams, while a Mike Gableman ("Unfit for Any Office," 3/28/08) would run campaign ads suggesting this architect of the United States Constitution and our second president was secretly a British Loyalist who hated America.
Geoff Lafayette
Bad policy
Kudos to Jacqueline Sutton for her excellent piece on treatment of teens as adults in the state justice system ("Juvenile Injustice," 3/7/08). Ms. Sutton really nailed the arguments for fixing the current bad policy in Wisconsin.
We at the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families have been working hard to promote passage of the bill introduced by state Sen. John Erpenbach and state Rep. Donald Friske to return 17-year-olds to juvenile jurisdiction, and we appreciate any substantive coverage of the issue, especially when it is so thorough and well-written.
Bob Jacobson, communications manager, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families
