Letters: Iraq, Economy, Singing President

Copyright © 2008 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, I'm Melissa Block.

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

And I'm Michele Norris.

Now, some of your comments on our last program.

BLOCK: On Friday, NPR's Scott Horsley reported on John McCain's position on the war in Iraq.

NORRIS: Mark Hemirland(ph) of Seattle, Washington, writes, according to your story, John McCain was right about Iraq - i.e., the U.S. needed to send more troops several years ago. The story goes on to inform listeners about Mr. McCain's stubborn insight and eventual vindication. Mr. Hemirland asks, how does Mr. Horsley know that more troops would've helped? Are we to judge by current events? An assumption of Horsley's piece seems to be that the surge is working and therefore, an earlier surge would've worked even better.

BLOCK: And he concludes, a decision to send more troops earlier may have led to even more opposition to an American occupation and more neglect of Afghanistan where, indeed, we should've directed more resources.

NORRIS: Steve Richards(ph) writes about our coverage of the economy and the mortgage crisis. The real estate market is in a world of hurt, he says. Thanks to the subprime debacle and the media, which has latched on to this crisis and is milking it for all it's worth. Every day, the media - including NPR - is coming up with a new angle, a different spin on the story. Please, give it a rest, he says. All this media attention has put buyers in a state of gridlock. No wonder homes aren't selling.

BLOCK: We reported on a potential partnership between Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a Saudi Arabian university. The proposed engineering program could be lucrative for the California university, but it comes with a string attached. The Saudi university doesn't allow women in its engineering courses.

NORRIS: Dean Johnson(ph) of Ventura, California writes, I was stunned to hear that the university that is working with a Saudi Arabian university to arrange remote technical classes that exclude women was my own alma mater. I love Cal Poly, but I will never forgive them for this if they proceed with this half-baked plan. I imagine there are some positives and I'm all for bridge-building, but this is a step back in time to Cal Poly's early days educating male veterans after World War II.

BLOCK: On Friday, we reported on a proposal to have teenage British subjects swear allegiance to the queen. Ellen Banks(ph) was stunned by what some Brits in the story had to say.

NORRIS: They said this would make them more like Americans, she writes. There's a big difference between allegiance to the idea of a republic with liberty and justice for all and allegiance to an archaic hereditary monarchy.

NORRIS: Also, on Friday, we played this tape from the president's appearance at Washington's Gridiron Club dinner.

(Soundbite of President Bush singing)

President GEORGE W. BUSH: (Singing) Yes, you're all gonna miss me, the way you used to diss me.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Pres. BUSH: (Singing) But soon I'll touch the brown, brown grass of home.

BLOCK: Well, some of you were not amused. This is from Anna Harris(ph) of Chicago.

NORRIS: It's great that NPR and other powerful media moguls are able to laugh about Bush's Gridiron performance, Ms. Harris writes. That White House press secretary, Dana Perino says that this is one leak to media the president doesn't mind speaks volumes to this administration's and the media's cluelessness. Kudos, NPR, for taking the bait.

BLOCK: If you have a comment, go to our Web site, npr.org, and click Contact Us at the top of the page. Please don't forget to tell us where you're from and how to say your name.

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