Reflections on the Democratic Convention

As I watch the Democratic National Convention coverage on television and see all of the big corporations throwing fancy bashes for those "important" delegates, and see all of the special political organizations set up to circumvent the new campaign finance laws, and see all the skyboxes in FleetCenter loaded with gourmet treats and expensive liquor, only one thought comes to my mind about these Democrats: hypocrisy.

ROBERT C. GOTSHALL JR.

Palm Bay, Fla.

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Arguments can easily be made that political conventions no longer provide the drama of years gone by. The candidates are known, and the platform is a done deal, rarely read or argued about. Yet, do the mass media of our nation not have a duty to present the views of our nation's elected leaders to help make ours a more perfect union? Is it any wonder that young people turn away from a life of service and from the voting booths when the media focus on red and blue issues, instead of issues that matter to all of us?

As Barack Obama said so eloquently Tuesday night, "In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation: the belief in things not seen, the belief that there are better days ahead."

How much better off as a nation would we be had more people, especially the young people who are our future, been able to hear the inspiring words of a man born to a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas who shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation.

HOWARD SALTER

Olney

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Former president Bill Clinton gives a speech at the Democratic National Convention, and the next day, The Post digs up the Monica Lewinsky story ["The Frenzy Over Lewinsky," Metro, July 27].

Why, other than to undermine Mr. Clinton's speech, was this done?

Now that The Post has printed this juxtaposition, I hope it balances its coverage by doing the same after speeches at the Republican convention. I hope to see stories about, for example, the allegations of sexual harassment against California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani's messy divorce and Laura Bush's car accident.

KIRT SUOMELA

Bethesda