In defense of President Bush, I am more than happy to accept a man who cares about his country, all its people, who is reasoned and thoughtful when he speaks over silver-tongued devils who will lie without flinching, pretend not to know and don't care what you think as long as you don't know.

Just because President Bush doesn't speak as well as you like, ordinary people can relate, and it doesn't mean that he doesn't have a good and reasoned mind. For me, it is not how you look or how you say what you say -- it is about producing results and, so far, Bush's presidency is reassuring.

-- G. Stephen, Alameda, Calif.

-- Radar Radford, Fairfax, Va.

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God bless you,

-- Renee Bowling

While I agree that President Bush is not the best public speaker I've ever heard (or even a better than average one), I would offer one note of warning about putting too much emphasis on a politician's rhetorical skills. Remember, one of the most effective public communicators in the past century was Adolf Hitler, indicating that one's ability to speak well doesn't necessarily equal great leadership.

This fact was made clear to me in 1967 when a German exchange student lived with my family. She had never been allowed to hear Hitler's speeches at school in Germany (they were banned at the time); yet she had access to recordings of his speeches in America. The day she came out of the listening booth in our school library, she was in tears. She said that she had never been able to understand how Hitler swayed so many Germans in the 1930s and '40s -- until she heard him speak. His oratorical power shocked and terrified her.

While I agree that President Bush could stand a speech coach to improve his delivery, implying that oratorical skill equals political greatness, or oratorical weakness equals political ineptness, is simply wrong.

-- Diane Singer, Madison, Ala.

I'm a Republican and faithful listener of Rush Limbaugh. I desperately wish President Bush to succeed, but I must admit that I too am dismayed every time I hear his butchering of the English language. It's reached the point where I expect him to be awkward on every occasion he appears before a microphone. When he does manage to string some sentences together, I'm struck dumb, much like Bush himself. I would vote for Condoleezza Rice for president in a heartbeat. She has poise and an obvious grasp on contemporary affairs, and besides, she's damn cute, too!

-- Trevor Olson

God, I hate to admit it but you are so right in your assessment of George Bush. As a conservative, it is painful indeed to watch this man night after night reading his notes less fluently than would word-recognition software. I was distressed one night while watching some sound bites from Bush's visit to Mexico when I realized that Mexican president Vicente Fox spoke better English (as far as use of words and delivery are concerned) than did our president. While my Democrat wife hooted her pleasure, I had to admit the obvious.

-- Robert D. Wood

Inarticulate Bush: His confusion results from two personalities -- the mother's son that cannot lie and the father's son that must speak strategically.

-- Peter F., Santa Monica, Calif.

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