Letters to the editor for Friday, Aug. 26, 2016

Hillary Clinton is a leader to live without

We Americans look for leadership. It’s hard to define what is leadership, but we all seem to know it when we see it. The past couple of weeks a series of storms devastated Louisiana bringing floodwaters of epic proportions. Now, as the floodwaters recede, it is time for the federal government to step in and render the aid that the citizens of Louisiana need and deserve.

This was the perfect opportunity for presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton to show leadership. Hillary made a phone call instead of visiting the devastation herself and finding out from the people what they need. She decided against that. She decided to stay in Martha’s Vineyard where she had extremely important business to transact. She had to host the 70th celebrity birthday party for her husband Bill. If she’d gone to Louisiana some of her celebrity guests might have felt shortchanged and wouldn’t have broken out their checkbooks to support her campaign. We can tell a lot by watching what people do as opposed to what they say. Hillary had the chance to act presidential and show leadership. She chose instead to act like a Clinton. What would she do as president if she had to choose between going to a celebrity gala or visit citizens of the U.S. who were being traumatized? I think the celebrity gala would win out every time.

She had the chance to show leadership, but she instead chose to plant candles on a cake — that’s leadership I can live without.

Ron Landmann

Minden