I want to respond to the article Ms. Kirsten Savali wrote titled “Sen. Barack Obama is right for the job.”

It has been a long time since I have been so overwhelmed by so much misinformation and lack of knowledge of a subject as I was in this article.

I strongly suspect this was some information sent to Ms. Savali from the Obama campaign headquarters. Surely, Ms. Savali could not be this far off the mark all on her own.

She stated that we are in a “war conjured up and maintained by selfish intentions of one man and one political party.”

I guess she was unaware that both political parties voted in favor of invading Iraq. This was after Saddam Hussein had ignored approximately 19 U.N. resolutions against the political activity and the brutal treatment of his own people. It might also be added that, according to the information at the time, he was thought to have possessed weapons of mass destruction. After all, he had already used weapons of this sort to kill thousands of Kurds in the northern part of his country.

I want to point out that both political parties were in favor of a regime change in Iraq. I think it worth nothing that you probably did not find any problem with President Clinton’s decision to invade Somalia and Kosovo. I defy you to tell me what our interest was in these two countries. I might add, that it was at this same time that the leading Democrats were insisting on regime change in Iraq.

Next, Ms. Savali state that “the United States is no longer respected on foreign soil.”

Ms. Savali, if you would keep up with current events in the world you would be aware that the new president of France, Mr. Nicholas Sarkozy, made a speech to our Congress where he stated that “America is the greatest nation in the world.”

At the time he also pledged solidarity with the United States on Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon and the Middle East and non-proliferation.

In Germany, the current president is very pro-America, and paid a warm visit to the United States. He was supportive of our efforts in the Arab States, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudia Arabia, Lybia and the Gulf States. Does this sound like we are no longer respected on foreign soil? I believe you missed the mark on this point also, Ms. Savali.

I hate to even give dignity to your statement that “The Old South sill lives proudly while education and healthcare take a back seat to hotels and casinos.” Please allow me to point out the obvious. Hotels and casinos are private enterprises. Both of these enterprises put people to work, pay wages and some have healthcare plans. Get the connection, Ms. Savali?

Let me stop right here and say that Sen. Obama seems to be plenty smart as far as IQ is concerned. It is just that his ideas are very socialistic.

He is also a very skilled and gifted speaker. I suspect this is where he reeled you in.

Sen. Obama’s speeches exhibit a lack of realism, and possibly verge on being very deceptive. He speaks in generalities, and seems to be very short on substance. For instance, he speaks often of unity, bipartisanship, hope and change. Have you ever heard him give specifics and a detailed plan of how he plans to achieve these things? My guess is he will be pushing a hard left — socialist — agenda if he make it to the White House.

Kirk Bartley

Natchez resident