Letter: Bush is more prepared than Clinton was

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2000 | 3:27 a.m.

In your Oct. 31 edition, vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman said that Bush is "not ready to be president." This only shows that he and Gore are now desperate and moving away from the issue-oriented race that Gore advocated in his debate with Bush, who now appears to be winning on issues. Strictly speaking, nobody is ready to be president of the most powerful country on earth. But it helps if one has experience as a leader and is ready to learn on the job.

Clinton became president although he was only the governor of the small state of Arkansas. In his first race for governor of the big state of Texas, Bush went against an experienced and aggressive Democrat and won. Outside critics deride his Texas record, but who better to judge him than his constituents? In his re-election bid, he won overwhelmingly!

The true measure of a leader is the realization that he cannot do everything by himself. Bush has shown that he needs and must utilize the help and advice of others -- such as vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney, former secretary of defense; Sen. John McCain, his primary opponent; Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, former commander of the Desert Storm forces that destroyed Saddam Hussein's vaunted military might. In Texas, he has also shown that he can work with Democrats -- and this experience should help him work with Democrats in Congress.

ANTONIO O. FIDELINO

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