TUESDAY'S LETTERS: Election Conspiracy, Soldier Suicides, Marimow and 'Inky'

By: E&P Staff In today's letters, two readers respond to Greg Mitchell's column on the "tin-foil hat" conspiracy theory that President Bush and Karl Rove tried to "throw" the election, another predicts that Philadelphia will soon become a one newspaper town, and thoughts on the tragic suicides of American soldiers who come home from wars overseas.

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Did Bush/Rove Throw the Election?

Much as I enjoy a conspiracy theory, especially in national politics, I would note that both Bush presidents sold out their supporters at some point. It is the nature of the Bushes. They are loyal only to themselves. Once in office, they screw the people who helped them get there.

R. Thomas Berner
Professor Emeritus of Journalism and American Studies
Pennsylvania State University



I have to admit, when Allen conceded Virginia without a recount, I thought, "Something isn't right here." But I couldn't imagine what the upside of losing would be, for the Bushies. Looks like Will Bunch chewed on it for a while longer. There may be something to his theory. Or it may be nonsense. The crazy thing is that we're actually FORCED TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

This is exactly what happens in countries where the press is nonfunctioning as a check on government. In the Middle East, in Southeast Asia, in Africa -- where reliable information has been sucked out of the public discourse, people turn to conspiracy theories.

To his credit, Will's theory makes a hell of a lot more sense than the 9/11 conspiracies. (Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone has done a great job showing the "Truth Movement" up as nutjobs.) But still ... it doesn't get us any closer to actually solving our problems.

It's notable, too, that the undisputed assumption behind The Bunch Theory is that America faces imminent disaster. Nobody's saying, "Hey, wait a minute, Will! We're going to be fine!"

Corey Pein



Love your column; one of my faves, have to say.

Of course, Rove would love to be able to say he ?meant to do that,? but after reading the Will Bunch article, I have to say, I was not at all convinced. And relieved that they made no really strong arguments. Or rather, that the arguments that they made were so easy to disarm.

Permit me to remind you and anyone, Rove is NOT a genius, but a ruthlessly evil megalomaniac. He is therefore bound to be blinded by his own hubris and self-serving delusions. There is also abundant evidence that he has made huge errors in the past, and the ones listed in your query here are only a few. People have been on to him for years, but unfortunately, they get virtually no press, while the genius myth gets repeated ad nauseam, in itself a tool he tries to use to manipulate reality on all other fronts, as well.

In fact, I am quite convinced that he is the source of that quote to Ron Suskind regarding the reality-based community. Consider the literally mad and diabolical mind that would utter such insanity. He will eventually be exposed, and here we are.

And then there is the enormous, looming, and over-arching sabre that bursts this flimsy bubble, namely that all these guys are now subject to subpoenas and investigations, and ultimately jail time and impeachment. If they had so much control over these elections that they could just intentionally lose them, it makes absolutely no sense that they would in the process subject themselves to such high-stakes risk in the process. Not even to try and trap the Dems into failing on Iraq as a setup for ?08.

Like I said, for what it?s worth. I?m sure Rove just loved Bunch?s story, and would love even more to see it take. But why would we give him that much power? We should really be laughing at the notion that he has that much , or ANY, genius. He is a mad and diabolical fool. Nothing more. We can?t let ourselves fall for his delusions.

L. Lynn LeSueur, Ph.D.

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Marimow Comes in, but Can he Save the 'Inky'?

Great article on Marimow coming back to try and save the Inquirer. Talk about a paper that's gone downhill the last 15 years. It's stunning to see how their circulation as well as that of the Daily News as fallen so deeply. Years ago they killed off the Bulletin so they would have no competition, now it's come back to bite them in the butt. I read your earlier article that they had an editorial staff of 500, then downsized it to 425, now may have to lop off another 100-150 jobs. I see that as a one-newspaper town within a year or two. Keep up the good work.

Jeff Share
Houston, Texas

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A Soldier's Suicide

Thank you for your story about Jeanne Michel's tragic suicide. In regard
to that:

During and after the Viet Nam war era, suicides by soldiers and veterans more than tripled the number of combat deaths. Nearly 60,000 soldiers died in Vietnam, and nearly 200,000 have committed suicide since then. A shocking, shameful statistic.

Grant Walpole