Facts, fast and loose

Like many a conservative pundit, it seems Ramesh Ponnuru plays fast and loose with the facts.

In his column reprinted here May 31, “Clinton, Trump and Nixon,” the Kansas-raised Princeton University graduate, 42, states that Richard Nixon was elected in 1969. Not so. Elected in 1968, he took office in 1969.

Even more embarrassing for the Bloomberg View/National Review writer is his naïve thinking that Hillary Clinton and the other 1969 Wellesley College graduates had no real reason to have virulently opposed Nixon “long before he had committed any impeachable acts—the Nixon-administration firings she mentioned happened more than four years after her commencement speech.”

Hmmm. He forgot to mention that Watergate had not yet happened either.

However, anyone who cared to keep up with current events and politicians back before the Internet made it so easy would have known of the many manifestations of concern Nixon had exhibited, going back to the way he first came to prominence. You can look it up. Many books have been written about a man who was called “Tricky Dick” with good reason, and few of them were complimentary.

Ironically enough, Nixon is looking good in our rear-view mirror, as contrasted with our current “leader.” JACK W. HILL

Bismarck

The sharing of secrets

A lot of people, mostly liberals, are screaming for Trump’s head because he shared some “classified” information with the Russians. This wouldn’t be the first time an American president shared information with the Russians. FDR and Churchill had multiple talks that included Stalin. The topics weren’t about wedding plans and grandkids; it was about how we get rid of Hitler.

I don’t remember reading about anyone Republican or Democrat telling FDR not to talk to Stalin. I don’t recall anyone screaming when FDR locked up U.S. citizens because they were of Japanese descent. Where were the cries “Impeach!” Is the reason that FDR was a Democrat? Maybe politicians were more statesmen than partisan hacks. Maybe the media was more inclined to report on what FDR did rather than report on what rumors were running around.

Democrats scream “He fired Comey” like the South Park kids hollered “they killed Kenny.” It’s not unusual for Democrats to disagree with Trump; he is a Republican. But how long ago were they hollering for Comey’s head? All the way back to Obama’s last days, and he did nothing. Trump did what they asked Obama to do, and they get mad? Were they this mad because Obama wouldn’t fire him? Is this hypocrisy on steroids, or just partisan politics raising its ugly head? ALLEN VEASMAN

Dover

Short-term memory

In response to Dana L. Wall’s letter to the editor in which he expressed chagrin against the Democrats for not trying to cooperate with the Trump administration, evidently he doesn’t remember Sen. Mitch McConnell’s statement that the single most important item for Republicans is to make sure President Obama is a oneterm president.

Am I missing something here? DANIEL J. STOCKMAN

Siloam Springs