A Voice for Change We Iowans examined the presidential candidates for months, and the majority of us turned out in record numbers to support Sen. Barack Obama (“Inside Obama’s Dream Machine,” Jan. 14). We’re behind him because he is not like any other candidate and because he is the one who can lead us to a new America. Our country hungers for fundamental change. Obama’s unique experience as a community organizer, as a constitutional lawyer, as a legislator who brings people together, as a man of courage who spoke out against the invasion of Iraq—plus his ability to lead—make him our best hope. Cathy Bolkcom Leclaire, Iowa
I’m 23 years old and I heard much about John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy when I was growing up, but for me they exist only in stories. I’ve never seen an American political figure who connected to me to their extent, or one I’ve found so inspiring. In the last election, I knew the candidates and their positions and voted for John Kerry. I’ve been working in China for a year now and have been following this election intently. However, I’ve decided that if Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination, I will fly back and work for his general-election campaign in whichever swing state and in whatever capacity necessary. I can’t explain how I feel about Obama or what’s brought on this change in attitude. But I think I’m beginning to understand what those stories were all about. Karlo Dizon Shanghai, China
The results of the Iowa caucuses proved that the authenticity and sincerity of a supposedly inexperienced candidate like Barack Obama trump worn-out political platitudes and shallow lip service from opponents with longer Washington résumés. This proves that Americans are hungry for real, meaningful change and that we are colorblind when it comes to choosing who we deem can best deliver on that promise. Obama is being derided by his detractors, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with peddling hope. Hope is precisely what America needs in these troubled times. And of all the candidates in both parties, Obama is the sole unifying figure, capable of transcending color, gender and political lines. He can bring all Americans together and help the nation heal from the deep fissions caused by years of division. His fresh and vibrant leadership will put America back on the right track and make us proud to be citizens of the world again. An inspirational leader like Jack and Bobby Kennedy before him, Obama is like a comet that comes but once every few generations. So, seize the moment we must. Cheers Echevarria-Leary Pinole, California
Barack Obama generates enthusiasm because he displays the rare gift of being forthright without appearing abrasive or condescending. He does not seem to carry a chip on his shoulder. This is crucial for the next president, who faces the difficult task of unifying our country. If Obama becomes the name and face of America, he would generate enormous good will for us around the globe. Troy Zukowski Portage, Michigan
I worked in John and Ted Kennedy’s campaigns. Barack Obama is no Kennedy. He is an inexperienced senator: long on lip, short on accomplishment. We elected a “likable” president eight years ago, and close to 70 percent of us live in daily regret and hardship for that monumental mistake. In a time when Iran threatens, AT&T and Countrywide falter and recession looms, Hillary Clinton alone manifests the experience and unmitigated toughness to see this country through the threats ahead. Fran Natale Parente Clark, New Jersey
Forget all the infighting over who said what—it’s politics. What Democrats want to know is: will the Obama campaign promise to go after the GOP in the general election when attacked, and with a vengeance? Barack Obama’s campaign is about change, hope, staying above the fight and taking the high road. I don’t think it is going to fight back immediately and be as vicious as the GOP. If that is the case, voters will run screaming from the Obama campaign to Hillary Clinton. No one wants a repeat of the John Kerry Swift Boat episode. Stephen Moore Snohomish, Washington
Those who cannot make a substantive case against Barack Obama for president charge him with being naive. Anyone who believes that a former state legislator who became a senator from Illinois is naive knows nothing of the rough-and-tumble politics of that state. Obama is no political neophyte. After only a few years in the Senate, he is known for being able to work effectively with members from both sides of the aisle. He’s a skilled politician with character, integrity and vision, a phenomenon in U.S. politics. Geraldine Beckford New York, New York
Barack Obama pledges change, and it’s high time someone really got America back on the right track. I believe Obama is the right candidate for that difficult assignment. His priority is health care. We know that the health-care system in the world’s richest country needs overhauling. Obama appeals to the thousands of Americans who are excluded from the system without any safety net while billions of dollars have been squandered in Iraq. The system needs fixing, and Obama can provide the leadership for that. Dan Chellumben Amboise, France
You cannot imagine the interest that this presidential campaign is stirring in my country, Albania. We are following all candidates with great interest, but our eyes are on Barack Obama especially. It may be difficult to imagine, but Obama to us is something more than a distant guy campaigning in a distant land for the office of head of state of the world’s only superpower. He brings new hope not only to the United States, but also to us. All of us who are trying to bring changes in our poor and oppressed land are looking at Obama for inspiration and courage, because we know that after his election the world could be very different for the poor and the oppressed, for those who are now struggling for freedom and liberty, human rights and human dignity, for a brighter future. Elton Tahirllari Via internet from Albania
It is a contest, but not primarily between two remarkable and wonderful candidates in the Democratic Party, or even between the Democrats and the Republicans. The real challenge is to see if together we can overcome some of the problems that have piled up and so grievously wounded all of us. In my opinion, Obama would be a great vice president on his way to becoming president. Paul E. Munsell Guatemala City, Guatemala
The emergence of Barack Obama as a top contender for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination presents a new trend in U.S. politics where issues of race and conservatism seem to be overlooked by Democratic voters. Obama’s principled stand on various points and his insistence on running a clean campaign with a mission of change have endeared him to a variety of voters across all age groups. It is heartening to read that Obama is himself overseeing the campaign. Clearly, he’s asserting leadership qualities at the outset. In India, the largest democracy in the world, the American nomination process is keenly watched as an exemplary exercise in democracy. But opinion is divided as to which candidate will be most beneficial to our own strategic interests. Now that India with its economic progress has become a global player, American leadership will have to accord India due credit. The broader consensus among political analysts and America watchers here is that the next occupant of the White House will be a Democrat. And there is an overwhelming feeling that Obama’s success at the hustings will bring about a qualitative change in the international arena: the world will be a better, safer place than it is today. R. K. Sudan Jammu, India
A Changing China In “Mao To Now” (Dec. 31/Jan. 7), Melinda Liu paints a masterful picture of China, but what isn’t said is as telling as what is. The amorality with which China has pursued development, and its callous indifference to human rights, have had deleterious effects across China and around the world. China is a principal obstacle to a solution that could end the genocide in Darfur and an impediment to preventing Iran’s genocidal mullahs from acquiring nuclear weapons. It’s great that millions of Chinese are making money, but money isn’t everything. Alexander Chester Cambridge, Massachusetts
In His Dec. 31/Jan. 7 Article, “The Rise of a Fierce Yet Fragile Superpower,” Fareed Zakaria cites China’s overwhelming economic growth, yet decentralization is becoming more of an issue. This lateral relationship between the provinces and the central government is actually holding China back from reaching its full potential. It needs to make an effort to reverse this process and establish a more authoritative relationship if it wants to move up the global totem pole. With luck, the upcoming Olympics will help create a stronger sense of national unity. Aaron Rosenthal New York, New York
I lived in Shanghai for 43 years before I immigrated to the United States in 1993. Melinda Liu’s vivid descriptions of China in the 1970s and 1980s reminded me of my experience, and provided Americans with a greater understanding of China. However, the explanation of the term “sea turtles” is not quite right. Liu describes “sea turtles” as those Chinese “migrat[ing] back and forth across the ocean.” The Chinese words hai gui mean “overseas returned students” and are a pun for “sea turtles.” In the late 1990s, many Chinese students returned home to find jobs after the dotcom bubble burst in the United States. William Shih Hayward, California
Condi ’ s Palestinian Peace Initiative Although I admire Condoleezza Rice’s personal dedication to the mission of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and creating a Palestinian state, with all due respect, her way will not work (“Condi’s Southern Strategy,” Nov. 26). My guess is all that will have resulted from Annapolis will be the nebulous speeches about “visions” and “political horizons” that are contingent on reviving a “peace process” between rivals who have shown over decades their inability to make it work. What Israeli and Palestinian opponents need is not a mediator or a matchmaker but an enforcer of a just and equitable plan that they, and all other players, accept in their hearts. Only the United States can accomplish this. And for this to have happened in Annapolis, it would have required that George W. Bush issue a statement mandating specific terms and execution deadlines. If he had plucked up the courage to make the right speech and follow it through to the finish before the end of his presidency, he would have been a historic hero. Samih A. Sherif Montreux, Switzerland
It is outrageous to compare the situation in Israel with that of black-white relations in the American South. Blacks never attempted to destroy the white population of the South, nor did they commit suicide bombings and murders of innocent women and children, as have the Palestinian Arabs, whether Hamas, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (the militant arm of Fatah) or any of the other terrorist Arab groups. Israel has been under attack from its Arab neighbors ever since its founding. Certainly anyone acquainted with history —including Condoleezza Rice—should be aware of this. Nelson Marans Silver Spring, Maryland
The Union That Made U.K. Fareed Zakaria’s understanding of the 1707 Acts of Union in his Jan. 14 column, “What People Will Die For,” is, I believe, incorrect. The 1707 Acts of Union refer to two separate parliamentary acts that joined the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England into the single Kingdom of Great Britain, which had been ruled by one monarch since 1603 when James VI, King of Scots, ascended to the English throne after the death of his cousin Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Welsh nation had been subdued centuries previously, in 1282, and was subsequently incorporated into the English nation. The Act of Union that formed the United Kingdom (the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland) did not happen until 1800. Richard Voigt St. Madoes, scotland
Mysteries and Miracles of DNA I loved the article about the recent findings of “junk DNA,” which marks a milestone in DNA research (“A Changing Portrait of DNA,” Dec. 17). The hypothesis that our “half-on, half-off” genes predispose us to cancer is fascinating and may hasten the discovery of a cure. Still, the research into the human genetic code raises many frightening thoughts. Who decides whether a life is worth living? What are the consequences of interfering in the switching on of genes? It seems doubtful that we will ever be capable of responsibly handling these complicated gene technologies. Laws must be enacted and strict controls carried out to prevent the creation of a Frankenstein’s monster. Eva Fassnacht Augsburg, Germany
I read your articles on DNA discoveries (“The Year of Miracles,” Oct. 15) with a growing sense of disconnection: cancer, heart disease and diabetes could be prevented or cured, thanks to these new discoveries. Yet most cases of these illnesses are degenerative and accompany a modern lifestyle. (Indigenous peoples develop them when they adopt a Western diet.) In a recent British government report, scientists predict that by 2050, 60 percent of men, 50 percent of women and 25 percent of children will be obese. Children are now growing up unnaturally, spending hours seated and staring into TV or computer screens while eating fatty, denatured food. Unless this changes, these future adults will never be well enough or live long enough to take advantage of any DNA discoveries. Anyone who thinks a DNA “miracle” will mean not having to address this is living in cuckoo land. Judy Smith Sheffield, England
A Martyr for Democracy As a former neighbor of Benazir Bhutto’s (in London’s Kensington), I once asked her if she was afraid of being assassinated. Without hesitation, she replied, “No, that would seem to be my destiny.’’ This remarkable, courageous lady’s legacy must be to have democracy restored to her beloved Pakistan. Her cowardly killers have silenced her, not her message. To murder a woman who brought hope to her nation is a disgrace for those who claim to be Muslims. Her sophistication, elegance and charm were no match for bullets. Her death is not her assassins’ victory. The way she was killed shows the world the depth of hatred and intolerance it faces in the name of God. We must defeat the evil men who stoop to killing women to impose their bankrupt will on everyone else. It was a privilege to have met Benazir: her conversation was highly intelligent, knowledgeable and powerful. Her charisma, bravery and dignity are honors for Pakistan as it mourns its greatest daughter, who, despite some faults, became a martyr for democracy. Dominic Shelmerdine London, England
I think Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was an opportunity seized by the gunman. He was positioned there, but Bhutto gave him the opportunity when she stuck her neck out of her car’s sunroof. The real terrorist event—planned and executed—might have been the bomb explosion. The gunman might have taken the chance and shot Bhutto when she stood up and presented an easy target. The bomb explosion a few meters away hurt no one else in Bhutto’s van or the van behind. Of the people in these two vehicles, only Bhutto was killed, and only because she stood up—she brought her fate on herself. S. Mohanakrishnan Auckland, New Zealand
