For the editor: Let’s assume that President Biden and former President Trump both deliver a coherent, policy-oriented speech during their debate. Should they then be judged solely on the performance of this one evening? (“Presidential debates usually don’t matter. This Biden-Trump showdown could be different“, Opinion, June 25)
It is the context that counts in evaluating a person, not a single staged event like the June 27 debate. Both Biden and Trump must be seen in the broader context of their past behavior.
Seen in this light, we voters should do our best to recall and then calmly evaluate the results of the two candidates on the following points:
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Who is a man of good character or not?
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Who is or is not a man with deep empathy for his fellow human beings?
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Which one has or has not demonstrated well-defined, fact-based, and well-reasoned visions for the betterment of our country?
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Which one worked well with other branches or the government?
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Which of them most effectively communicated with us, the public, the what and why of their decisions and actions?
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Which has shown consistent and strong support for the Constitution and the rule of law?
More importantly, which candidate would you want your children to emulate?
Victor Wagan Monsura, Garden Grove
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For the editor: After reading about the upcoming presidential debate, I think Trump and Biden are going to put on a pretty awful show.
The solution was to have independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the debate. CNN’s refusal to allow him on stage is a slap in the face to all of us who would like to hear from anyone other than Biden and Trump.
This is still America, the land of the free – or so I thought.
Virginia Noyes, Glendale
This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
