I enjoyed your opinion on the importance of local elections. They encourage necessary democratic participation to keep us free, and incubators for higher offices. Things learned are easily transferred upward, especially how to work well with others to create effective government.

Unfortunately the elected tend to forget learned lessons after consecutive terms. Politics has become a political power game. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We experienced this federally and at the state levels recently when one party controls everything.

The second part of your editorial reinforced my view and that of many – that the media is irrationally biased against Sarah Palin. Those who conclude Palin was unvetted and unqualified must have missed the proctological-like exam the media gave the governor and family.The person escaping vetting was the charismatic, change-promoting Barak Obama. We are all paying for his ignored inexperience. We have rising taxes, no jobs, no confidence and huge growing debt. Lack of much track record kept a lazy but hopeful media from probing deep.

Regarding hometown leadership, we have had only one in recent memory. Senator Henry Jackson (D) was a true statesman and capable of being president. Our current two U.S. senators fall woefully short of national stature, especially the one who ran as a “mom in tennis shoes.”

To answer your hometown question, Kitsap County does have one state senator of proven statesman quality. I would trust him with national office.

-Bill Truax

Shelton, Washington