Letters: Sounding Off On The Financial Crisis

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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

Time now for your comments.

(Soundbite of music)

MONTAGNE: It's no surprise that the nation's financial crisis is on your mind. And here's just a small sample from our inbox. Bob Jennings(ph) of Grand Rapids, Michigan, writes, the leaders of the financial firms and our government should be jailed for economic terrorism. The proposed solution by Paulson and Bernanke is the wrong solution. Mitch Diamond(ph) of Unison, Virginia, adds, U.S. taxpayers are being asked to become the greatest fools and help out all those scoundrels. Many knowledgeable experts have raised doubts about the plan and have offered better ideas. And Ari, that's strong stuff, but that's the kind of letters we've been getting.

ARI SHAPIRO, host:

Indeed, and from what we understand, the same kind of feedback that lawmakers have been getting in the last few days. On a different subject, another listener wrote in after hearing our interview with Senator John McCain yesterday. We asked the Republican presidential candidate about the foreign policy qualifications of his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

(Soundbite of interview)

Senator JOHN MCCAIN (Republican, Arizona; Republican Presidential Nominee): She has a world view that I have. She is very highly qualified and very knowledgeable.

INSKEEP: Given what you've said, Senator, is there an occasion where you could imagine turning to Governor Palin for advice in a foreign policy crisis?

Senator MCCAIN: I've turned to her advice many times in the past.

SHAPIRO: Morgan Evans(ph) of Newville, Pennsylvania, writes, McCain stated that he has turned to his running mate Sarah Palin for advice many times in the past. Yet McCain only met Governor Palin twice before selecting her as his running mate. Evans writes, this is at the very least a gross exaggeration.

MONTAGNE: And we got a flood of emails about my co-host Steve Inskeep's interview last week with the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Listener Jihan Sildahar(ph) was among many who thought Steve's questions were too harsh. He writes, what I heard was a perfect portrayal of the ugly American raising his voice and interrupting the president mid-sentence. Ed Helmond(ph) of Crownsville, Maryland, adds, I want NPR to teach me something new, not demonstrate that they are righteously tough.

SHAPIRO: Dan Cole(ph) wrote from Idaho Falls, Idaho, with the opposite view. You were way too liberal on your questioning and didn't really ask him any hard questions that he couldn't skirt around. You really blew it. Listener Raiza Madani(ph) grew up in Iran under the Shah's regime. He says he's visited Iran recently, and he writes from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The point the interviewer made about satellite TV and Led Zeppelin showed his ignorance of Iranian culture. The reality is, no matter who's in charge of Iran, some Iranians will always consume Western media, but that is totally unrelated to their liking or disliking of their government.

MONTAGNE: And there's always a way for you to let us know what you like or dislike about Morning Edition. You can go to our Web site. It's npr.org. Click "Contact Us."

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