More Questions To Be Answered

To the Editor:

Peter Sandler brings up many interesting questions with regard to Sarah Palin [“Palin Needs to Answer Some Questions,” Letter Hive 9/12/08]. I have a lot of questions I’d like answered, too:

Is it acceptable that the two top recipients of campaign contributions from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are Christopher Dodd and Barak Obama? It’s especially interesting to note that Senator Dodd sits on the Banking and Finance Committee. How could this not influence their decisions? Are they really looking out for our best interest?

Doesn’t anyone else feel even a hint of concern over the fact that Joseph Biden’s two sons (his son Hunter is a multimillion-dollar DC lobbyist!) and their employers have directly benefited from legislation which Biden himself voted on? (The same goes for Harry Reid’s family, which has made a fortune thanks to some of his Senate votes!)

Why is it that in many precincts (including many in Wisconsin and Michigan), the presidential (paper) ballots are left unattended on a counter in the local post office? No one monitors how many ballots someone takes, or even if the person voting is in fact eligible to vote.

Why is it OK that Charlie Gibson edited out choice sections of Sarah Palin’s interview thereby altering the concept of her answer (as opposed to normal editing which is done for time constraints). And while we’re on Charlie Gibson, why was his interview with Obama cordial and full of softball questions, yet he tried to hammer Palin? If he wants to be a hard-hitting legitimate journalist, he has to practice with an even hand.

According to The Wall Street Journal: “For more than 20 years, Thad Beyle, a political scientist at University of North Carolina has maintained an index of ‘institutional powers’ in state offices. He rates governorships on potential length of service, budgetary and appointment authority, veto power and other factors. Mr Beyle’s findings for 2008 rate Alaska at 4.1 on a scale of 5. The national average is 3.5. The state with the lowest rating is Vermont (2.5) where the governor (remember Howard Dean) is a figurehead compared to Mrs Palin.” (Not my words; The Wall Street Journal’s!) The Journal went on to point out that in Alaska, the governor has line-item veto power over the budget and can only be overridden by a ¾ majority of the legislature. In 1992, the year Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected President, his state budget was $2 billion and among the smallest in the country. Compared to that, Sarah Palin ($12 billion budget) is an executive giant. (Again WSJ’ s words, not mine!)

Oh, and one more thing: Do you think a board of directors of any major corporation would hire a CEO who refuses to release his undergraduate transcripts? Why are the American people supposed to hire Obama without the opportunity to peruse his academic history?

So you see Mr Sandler, we all have questions in this election. Too bad the press has no intention of answering them!

Jacqui Agius

9 Adams Hill Lane, Newtown                             September 15, 2008