How we see Obama

Re “The smokin’ president,� Opinion, June 18

I know the article was tongue-in-cheek, but the premise illustrates an important point: A large part of the country sees what it wants to see in President Obama. The rest of us see something different.

They see “date night� on Broadway. We see an otherwise charming example of taxpayer abuse. They see a visionary new leader who promises to create a new and more caring government. We see our fellow citizens duped into a creeping encroachment of their freedoms by their idolatry for a glamorous leader.

Believe me, many of us have no problem believing Barack Obama is quite human. And if a cigarette could break the unfortunate enchantment the rest of you are under, I would for the first time give thanks that someone lighted up.

Chris Ross

Redlands

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Have you taken leave of your senses? I know it’s supposed to be satire, but these kind of columns are the reason newspapers are dying. When you elevate a mere mortal to a pedestal, you lose your ability to critically evaluate his performance, a necessary check for every functioning democracy.

Kaveri Subrahmanyam

Pacific Palisades