Cruiser, I agree with everything you have said. But it is a tragedy about which I'm quite sure Laura still has the occasional nightmare and feels the occasional unbidden wave of guilt. It's said that she underwent a considerable change as a result--became much more quiet and serious--and to this day the memory is very painful to her. The boy who died in the accident--the driver of the other car--was her sweetheart at the time. And there was no political influence involved in the fact that there were no charges brought against her. There is a load of pain and guilt there, and flogging her with it is certainly not going to heal anything. Everything I've read about her indicates that, all in all, she's a pretty nice person.

But my major objection to bringing the matter up in the current political context is that this happened fourteen years before she met George. Much as I don't want George to wind up in the White House for another four years, trying to use Laura's tragedy against George is really hitting below the belt. There is plenty to jump on George's back about without bringing up a forty-year-old accident that he had nothing to do with and can only bring a replay of the pain and agony to Laura.

Let's just don't do it.

Don Firth