I believe that Americans voted against their own interests in the last election. The Bush administration convinced 51 percent of the voters that certain issues are more important than jobs and the economy, war and peace, or honesty in government.

I own guns, not assault weapons, but unjustified fear of gun control caused many people to vote against their interests, including national health care favored by 70 percent of all Americans.

According to the medical journal “The Lancet,” the war in Iraq has killed more than 60,000 children. Don’t they count?

Here, Bush’s weakening of environmental standards increases pollution, exacerbating lung ailments in children and risking the lives of many babies in Maine annually.

Our taxes pay for road maintenance and schools. How does voting for Bush, who created the largest deficit in history, lower taxes? Our grandchildren will repay Bush’s debt.

Are good schools and health care considered socialism? Government programs work, yet cost less than private programs. The five most vibrant economies in the world are social democracies. Citizens there have well-paying jobs starting with six weeks of vacation, great schools, paid maternity leave and comfortable retirement. Impossible with Bush.

U.S. terrorism has killed more human beings than Muslim extremists. Bush’s invasion of Iraq recruits 10 new terrorists for every one killed there.

The “moral values” issue will be used repeatedly, without anything being done by Republicans about abortion, gay marriage or gun laws. Acting on those issues would lessen their rage value.

Judith Hopkins, Pownal

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