LETTERS: WE MUST MAINTAIN STANDARDS FOR PRESIDENCY

To the editor:

A review of the current list of possible candidates for the presidency in the next election clearly shows another accomplishment of President Bill Clinton. He has so lowered the standards for this office that now it seems anyone feels they should be considered for this high office. The "if he can do it, I can do it" theory still motivates, and the lower the standards the longer the list of those who, in pre-Clinton days, would doubtfully have even been mentioned, and, if so, it would have been considered a joke. Now several of these folks are getting public recognition and time from the media in somewhat of a serious vein.

I, as probably most of you, was told at an early age that "anyone can be president, and that includes you." This is true, and I hope it never ceases to be repeated to each new generation. However, I understood that to mean that anyone has the opportunity to prepare himself through education, experience and development of strong character and high moral standards and then would be qualified to be considered for that high office, despite humble beginnings, race, gender or any other such superficial barrier.

With names like Jesse Ventura, Donald Trump, Warren Beatty, Sybill Shepherd and others being kicked around, it demonstrates the great change our country had undergone in the past few years. I do not mean to belittle the accomplishments of these folks in their given area of expertise or to infer that they possess none of the necessary qualities to be a candidate, but it just seems that there is such a great gulf between who and where they are now and the person we need to lead this great nation that it requires our serious attention to recognize the direction in which we are going.

An old adage comes to mind: Cheat me once, it's your fault. Cheat me twice, it's my fault. We have been through these steps and now are facing our third chance, one I think we must not take lightly. Shame on us for allowing Bill Clinton to lower the standards for our country's leadership. And double-shame on us if we don't spend the time and energy necessary to carefully sift through all the legitimate candidates of all parties and elect a president of whom we can be proud, one we can trust and respect even when we don't agree on certain issues, instead of another one who will be the source of the joke of the day.

Party loyalty is important to most of us, but let's not allow it to blind us to facts and circumstances that will result in further damage to this great country. The ball is in our court, and the clock is ticking.

RAY DUFFEY

Cape Girardeau