yale prof. david gelernter does a superb job recapping president obama<u+2019>s serial abuse of executive power over the last eight years, the damage he did to america<u+2019>s standing in the world and to americans<u+2019> confidence in their own government, and the impending damage of obama iii in a hillary clinton administration (<u+201c> trump and the emasculated voter ,<u+201d> op-ed, oct. 15). the obama/clinton/progressive contempt for average voters is woven into their dna, but is it undeserved? president obama did, after all, win re-election rather handily. his job approval rating stands today above 50%, not too shabby after years of treating voters as six-year-olds, ignoring congress, trying to bully the supreme court, ruling by executive fiat and overseeing a feeble economic recovery. if mr. gelernter is right that president obama has governed like a stern baby sitter and <u+201c>doesn<u+2019>t give a damn what people think,<u+201d> what does that say about we, the emasculated people, and the state of the nation? consider, too, that without the constitution<u+2019>s 22nd amendment preventing a third run for president, mr. obama might be on the way to another victory. emasculated voters seem reconciled to a new progressive vision of the american way of life and a new world order with america no longer leader of the pack. the profound contempt that the president and mrs. clinton share for americans isn<u+2019>t a deal breaker. if mrs. clinton can run on her character as we know it and president obama<u+2019>s record as we<u+2019>ve experienced it and still win, progressive treatment of americans as dimwits is more than justified. frank allen charlotte, n.c. i sincerely hope that prof. gelernter has nonrevocable tenure. by airing his rejection of the university orthodoxy, he has potentially sabotaged his professional future. at best, he will be subjected to classroom boycotts, accusations of microaggressions, demands for classroom safe-spaces, censure or reprimand. it matters little that his assessments are accurate and ring true. would that we were all so courageous! lyle s. mindlin okemos, mich. it is precisely donald trump who has emasculated us by failing to offer a reasonable alternative to hillary clinton. jeff bodenstab boston what gives anyone reason to think that the republicans (or democrats) in congress will have any sway whatsoever over mr. trump? they have been completely flummoxed by him and unable to temper any aspect of his puerile, impetuous and unpredictable remarks. peter johnson woodbury, conn. our government was founded during a period we now call the age of reason, an age that was committed to thinking and reasoning to come to the best decisions. let<u+2019>s quit our emotional whining and examine our political truths. and women? we will vote for the better candidate because we do not fear emasculation. catherine bennett portland, ore. mr. gelernter argues that if mr. trump acts in the oval office the way he has acted for the past 60 years, we can simply impeach him. and therefore mr. trump will not act as crazy in the oval office as he has on the campaign trail. i can<u+2019>t believe this needs to be pointed out, but the argument that we can just impeach mr. trump is possibly the worst argument that can be made for electing anyone to the most powerful office in the world. if mr. trump<u+2019>s supporters are already putting impeachment on the table, how about we skip those proceedings and not elect a man who lacks almost all basic qualifications to be president? jeff beamer new york david gelernter seems to forget that we are a democracy. his views aren<u+2019>t supported by the majority of the country, and possibly this is why other people with those views feel left out. in fact, our country was built on immigration and no, that certainly doesn<u+2019>t mean, as mr. gelernter claims, that <u+201c>all mankind have a right to camp in your backyard.<u+201d> the vetting process is long and thorough. as a jew, i shudder to think where i and my ancestors might be today had views like mr. gelernter<u+2019>s prevailed. there has always been a xenophobic element in our country that maligned immigrants no matter where they came from. no, mr. gelertner, this is 2016 and most of us have finally grown up and recognize that there are individuals of value that are different from us. howard brenner woodmere, n.y. mr. gelernter has perfectly consolidated and articulated all of my disjointed grumblings. gelernter for president! carla harman san antonio
emasculated voters get what they deserve - wsj
noauthor