On The Road
I wasn’t sure whether to be amused or appalled at Mark Jacobson’s attempt to claim 9/11 not just for New Yorkers but for New York Democrats [“Travels Into the United, Divided States,” September 6]. How partisan can you get? The 9/11 attacks were not aimed at New York City per se, but rather against all of Western civilization.
—Jeffrey Gross, Brooklyn
Mark Jacobson seemed to paint the well-meaning Republican delegates as naïve country folk simply because they have a different political ideology and happen to live in places other than New York City.
—Cecilia Don, Portland, Ore.
I was one of those New Yorkers who hightailed it out of town during the Republican National Convention, to North Carolina, and I can verify that Republican automatons like Sheri Valera are not an anomaly. Perhaps my KERRY-EDWARDS button made me an instant target, but I seemed to inspire political conversation wherever I went. At first, I thought that something in the southern water made these people continue to intone expired mantras like “We will find the WMDs,” “Kerry is a flip-flopper,” and “Saddam was giving money to Al Qaeda,” but then I picked up the local papers and watched the evening news and discovered where the brainwashing was coming from. If these were the only outlets that I had for my news, I would think that President Bush was running unchallenged in November. I can see why the New York media is accused of being liberal when most other media markets are all Bush, all the time. I am glad to be back in a place where there is more than one side of a story, but unlike Mark Jacobson, after my journey down South, I am willing to give the secession fantasy another thought.
—Linda Giordano, Manhattan
Poll Points
Great article on how the GOP views both New York City and New Yorkers [“What They Really Think of Us,” by Simon Dumenco, September 6]. It reminds me of a test done five years ago: A 40-year-old man went to the center of ten major U.S. cities, opened a map, and then stood with a perplexed look. Guess in what city he received the largest number of offers to help him find his way—New York, and by a very large margin.
—R. Dunn, Manhattan
Speculation that Rudy Giuliani, who polled favorably among GOP primary voters, would be the Republican nominee for president in 2008 should be a scary proposition for responsible citizens of all political persuasions. Giuliani, an effective but heartless crime fighter, is a non-diplomat of the dangerous variety. He’s a street fighter in his own mind, but one who hasn’t seen a bloody nose since grammar school—if ever. America doesn’t need this nasty, arrogant pseudo-tough guy to lead our nation. We need to keep Rudy in the private sector—forever.
—Michael J. Gorman, Whitestone, N.Y.
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