Nowhere to swing but to the left

John King and his like-minded ideologues have been extra busy with the letter-writing since Obama became president.

Recently, Nancy Thorner attacked his speech at Cairo, but it seems she gave more attention to the right-wing media's interpretation of the speech than reading the speech itself.

I could counter her letter point-by-point, but I'm not sure what can be gained arguing with someone who still believes the U.S. has not tortured our detainees, or who thinks invading Iraq was a necessity (there were no weapons of mass destruction, al-Qaida was not present before our invasion, and there was no connection to 9/11).

Apparently she wants a president who will travel overseas and alienate everybody he is speaking to. Nancy and John and the others need to realize that because President George W. Bush swung the political pendulum so far to the right, it is only natural that the pendulum swings almost as far to the left as people react against the problems seen in the last eight years.

It is my hope (as a former Republican who considers himself independent but generally votes Democrat) that President Obama shows more thought and care in his actions than President Bush did, and leave us more centered.

President Bush's approach of "I have political capital and I intend to spend it" ended up morally bankrupting the Republican Party in the eyes of the public. Hopefully, the Republican Party can reflect on where they have gone the last 20 years, and where they should be for the good of the American people, and become a party I can once again vote for. A true conservative party - one that conserves our natural resources, protects valuable friendships with other countries and respects all parts of the Constitution, not just the 2nd Amendment.

Rob Neff Lake Zurich