A friend recently referred to Kerry as a “loser” in the negative sense. Really! Here is a man who had never run for president in his life, and after a long campaign, often riddled with character assassination, managed to capture 49 percent of the votes. His opponent, incumbent President Bush, placing his domestic and foreign policies online for all to see, managed to get 51 percent of the votes, which he now considers a tremendous mandate from the American people. Really!

Imagine, if you can, the conditions of the election reversed and that Kerry would have been the incumbent president. Do you think Bush would have taken 51 percent of the votes? Believe me, Kerry is no more a “loser” in a negative sense than Bush is a “winner” in a positive sense.

Richard G. Doucette, Auburn