What struck me most in your article about Sarah Palin is how much her governing style resembles that of George W. Bush.

She conducts the business of the state in secret, appoints friends and cronies to positions of power and authority regardless of their credentials, surrounds herself with supporters and refuses to listen to those who disagree with her, and makes decisions based on gut instinct instead of knowledge and thoughtful consideration.

It is helpful to have this glimpse into Ms. Palin's "executive experience," so Americans can see that it is the same management style that brought us the Iraq war, the tragic lack of response to Hurricane Katrina, a decimated Justice Department and an economy in shambles.

Our country cannot afford to have such a leader a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Mary Humstone

Fort Collins, Colo.

Sept. 15, 2008

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To the Editor:

Let's see. Gov. Sarah Palin runs an intensely secretive administration, surrounds herself with unqualified, sycophantic cronies while firing competent subordinates, hides scientific facts from the public when they contradict her policies, believes she's doing God's will, viciously attacks the press when it legitimately questions her decisions, polarizes the electorate and abuses her power to lash out at perceived foes.

Sound familiar?

After the catastrophe of eight years of this kind of leadership, the American people are hurting too much, and are too smart, to let that happen to them again.
Larry Geni

Evanston, Ill., Sept. 14, 2008

(Letters to the Editor, NYT)