It seems to me that the population as a whole is taken in by the power of noise and glitz instead of by the power of calm debate and logic. In the last Republican “debate,” the candidate who impressed me was Rand Paul. He seemed to be a thinker and the sanest and most level-headed of the nine present. I don’t particularly agree with all of his views but if we have to have a Republican president (rather than a Democratic one) I would sooner it be him than any of the others.

Roger Sayer

Mukilteo