Al Gore’s Position

* Is there anyone who really believes that if the Bush and Gore positions were reversed, George W. Bush wouldn’t be doing exactly what Al Gore is doing--simply requiring an accurate count of the votes? Why is this so difficult to understand? How could this be construed as inappropriate or unfair? Why are the Bush folks so jumpy?

BARBARA GARY

Mar Vista

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Gore and Sen. Joseph Lieberman have become the main characters in a soap opera that, according to current polls, is getting poor ratings. Evidently they are not believable enough to hold an audience.

ROBERT DOURIAN

Northridge

* As a proud liberal, meaning tolerant, open-minded and generous, I say let Bush have it--he won’t be able to keep the promises he made to the extreme right anyway, considering that the Senate is split 50/50. Besides, we all know that he won’t be running the country, as we have already seen during the last few weeks. He’ll be relaxing at his ranch more often than Reagan did and leave the work for poor Dick Cheney and his buddies.

The fact that he has handed over the transition to a man who was just released from the hospital for his fourth heart attack and a stent placement says a lot about the man who is going to be our next president. It is irresponsible of Bush to keep Cheney as vice president and rely on him to do his dirty work while he plays with his dog or reads a speech somebody else wrote. God help us all.

ERIKA BLOS

Santa Barbara

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Re “Cheney Doesn’t Have the Heart to Serve As Vice President,” Commentary, Dec. 5: Guess Herbert Abrams hasn’t heard of the anti-discriminatory Americans With Disabilities Act--or perhaps this law doesn’t include protection for Republicans?

VICKIE HAMILTON

Huntington Beach

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Gore’s political miscalculation: He carefully avoided contact with Bill Clinton during the campaign instead of embracing him and his policies but still disavowing his personal lifestyle. He thought he could get overwhelming support by just standing for the policies and not the man. But the people loved Clinton. And he would easily win against Bush today. They voted for him in spite of the sex scandals he had to endure. That was the message Gore should have read. Gore came on too lily-white. The American people want to vote for someone not too unlike themselves, with all the human frailties. They would never elect a minister type to lead them. Ironically, they looked at Bush as being more human and Gore’s strategy backfired.

BERNARD LEHRER

Ventura

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The Times’ Dec. 5 editorial concerning the election and the rights of the voters stated a central principle which has been too much neglected in the media. You stated that in “its Nov. 21 decision, the Florida court rightly insisted that the ‘real parties in interest’ in all these challenges are not the candidates themselves but the voters.”

The candidates should have no more say in the matter, after they have cast their ballots, than anyone else. Conceding an election should have no validity, unless the candidate simply resigns, but then, concession is not resignation.

HARRY M. BAUER

Sherman Oaks