Raise the bar on both sides of debate

I read Kathleen Muhr's letter which appeared in this column on July 4 and agree that David Letterman was out of line with his joke about the Palin daughter. He apologized and owned up to it which is more than I see from the conservative side of the debate. Conservative pundits and comedians are just as guilty of baseless and ill considered remarks. Just listen to Rush Limbaugh (if you can) for any length of time. He tests the outer boundary of credibility and decency in a different way. The last apology that I heard out of Mr. Limbaugh was to his listeners after his prescription drug abuse, which is a personal matter. Morality, respect and decent behavior applies to both sides of the public arena and it is in short supply among leaders of the "family values" constituency.

Our "sense of decency in America" is based upon mutual respect for differing viewpoints, the freedom to espouse them, and vigorous and thoughtful debate on the facts to arrive at a consensus that serves the majority of constituents. Unfortunately, the attempts to polarize the national debate and impede meaningful progress on real issues is attributable to the conservative "Just Say No" leadership, such as it is at the moment. I agree, it is time to say "enough is enough" but I think that the onus is being placed on the wrong side of the aisle.

Bruce Chambers

Bartlett