LETTERS: TRUMAN LIVED UP TO THE PRESIDENCY

To the editor:

I agree with the Speak Out caller who implied one's personal life is entirely his own and should not be exposed in the news media. Less humiliating is it to husband and wife if a scandal occurs.

Just recently a well-known television commentator strongly voiced his belief pertaining to that subject, saying it was a matter for husband and wife alone. He received applause from the audience.

An attorney's job is to win the lawsuit in which he is involved. That is the name of the game. We have heard the remark concerning the lawyer and the honest may lying side by side, which of course is cruel and defaming.

In the case of President Bill Clinton, as far back as I can remember and even before, presidents engaged in extramarital relationships. To name a few, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was rumored, was among those who engaged in such. His lovely wife, Eleanor, humbly accepted her unfortunate role in their marriage.

Dwight Eisenhower also was rumored to be overstepping his marital bond. I do not recall either affair being exposed in the news media.

Perhaps, then, that is the reason I am no longer a one-party person. Instead, I tend to vote for the candidate I feel is of good character, including decency and truthfulness to his wife.

Former President Harry Truman, in my opinion, is the only president who really lived up to all those attributes. He remained true to his wife, Bess. He was also a very good president, staunch in standing firm to his title.

PAULA E. KEMPE

Cape Girardeau