Opinion: What names come to mind as presidential candidates for 2024?

My favorite would be substantive, honest

My ideal candidate for president would never win. He or she would not even be nominated in today’s political web of self-serving, inbred, power-hungry political party leaders.

Someone with a record of telling the truth and providing constructive solutions is the antithesis of who wins the internal contests and the national debates. Feeding on hatred and bigotry, latching onto minority groups’ discontents and attacks on opponents (especially those based on misinformation) — that wins. Responding to accusations only serves to repeat them and distracts from substantive reasons to vote for the accused candidate.

And typically, the accusation makes Page One and the truth, if published at all, is buried on Page 14.

But I remain a naïve idealist of the 1960s and John F. Kennedy’s Camelot. My candidate would address the substantive issues, with detailed substance rather than superficial generalizations, such as “I like apple pie and motherhood.” Walter Cronkite has died, so I have no name of such a candidate and suspect no such candidate would voluntarily subject himself or herself to the “slings and arrows” of putting his or her name out into the political fray. But maybe Walter Cronkite would still win as president.

Clifford Weiler, Mission Hills

Find a person who will make us proud

At this time, we don’t yet know what choices we will have in choosing a president for 2024. With 23 months to go, we will certainly be faced with many potential candidates and none of them will be perfect. But the No. 1 requirement for my choice will be someone who exhibits the same values that I was raised with.

My candidate will be honest, not dishonest. He or she will admit to some failings, not try to pass them on to others.

This candidate will listen to both sides of the aisle and make the best decisions for the most people, not just for a few people. The ideal candidate will face the reality of our problems, not bury them with his/her head in the sand. This person will listen to and respect our scientists and experts and make the best policy decisions based on keeping us safe and healthy and preserving the wonderful quality of life we enjoy here in the United States for many generations yet to come.

This person will refer to his political rivals as “opponents,” not “enemies.” He or she will recognize that we are all Americans and embrace us all as equals, even those whose votes went to someone else. They will respect our democracy and the will of the voters.

My candidate will look forward, not backward. Any takers out there?

Patricia Del Rio, Escondido

DeSantis has proven himself as governor

My choice is Ron DeSantis because he always puts the people first. He is proactive when responding to emergencies, pandemics and disasters. He has proven over and over again that he is more than qualified, not only to be the governor of Florida but the president of the United States in 2024.

Donna Walters, El Cajon

We need a unifying leader, not a divider

Whether Republican or Democrat, my ideal candidate for president in 2024 won’t don a MAGA cap but will proudly display our traditional American motto, e pluribus unum, which continues to define our national identity: “out of many, one.”

This candidate will afford respect to any rival party and its supporters and treat them as the loyal opposition. He or she will never refer to them as the enemy even when disagreeing vehemently over the ordering of priorities and matters of policy. However, he or she will always rely on verifiable evidence and reject the poison of conspiracy theories.

My candidate will invite members of all parties to join together in addressing the pressing issues of our time, knowing full well that compromise must be part of any legislative agenda. Such issues will include (but not be limited to):

- Climate change

- Immigration and the border

- Gun violence

- Racial and gender inequality

- The spread of pernicious misinformation

- Urban crime

- A woman’s right to choose

Finally, if my ideal candidate were to lose, he or she would never claim that the election was rigged but would graciously concede defeat, and not only congratulate the next president of the United States but offer to help in strengthening our democracy.

Emery J. Cummins, Pacific Beach

Country needs better choices next election

The ideal presidential candidate for 2024? Or perhaps more appropriate, a Democratic candidate to run against former President Donald Trump?

Things to consider: First, will Trump be the GOP candidate? With his personality, he craves the adulation and all the power. But judging by his past, he cares little for the law, for tradition or for the good of anyone but himself. And no doubt his campaign would be as ugly as it was in 2016. Unless he is indicted, he will probably stay in the race — if nothing else for the money he can raise for himself.

For the Democrats, I am sad to say it, but President Joe Biden should not run again. He is simply too old. Truthfully, Biden has had a successful two years. Other than age, he deserves another term. Prescription drug bill allowing Medicare to bargain on drug prices. Unemployment at historic lows. Limits on prescription costs that will help millions of citizens. The Inflation Reduction Act, which is really about improving national infrastructure with roads and bridges and will employ thousands of people — jobs where you get your hands dirty.

Infrastructure is expensive, yes, but the people who will pay for it are the same people who will enjoy the benefits in the future.

There are many qualified Democratic candidates. So if not Biden, who? First of all is Kamala Harris. Unfortunately, I believe we are still not ready for voters to elect a woman president, like Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. My hope is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas retires and Harris is selected as his replacement. This opens the vice presidency to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Clearly, he is intellectually capable, extraordinarily well-spoken and quick on his feet, but can he be elected president?

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, is a possibility, due to his intelligence, experience, presence and history of trying to impeach Trump, and being on the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 coup attempt. I believe Schiff would be considered a moderate. A debate with Trump would be interesting. Gov. Gavin Newsom would be a front-runner if he commits. But he says he is not interested — right now. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is the right age, and has experience and gravitas. But he would not want to run for president when he is up for election, to preserve his Senate seat. Eric Holder, attorney general under President Barack Obama, is brilliant. He is African American and could be a promising candidate but would be 73 in 2024.

It seems to me that anyone who wants to be president of the U.S. should be disqualified on the basis of their sanity. But somewhere out there is a reasonably well-known, moderate Democrat, male (from the South, if possible) who is willing to take on the slings and arrows of Trump and his cult. Former New Orleans mayor and now senior Biden adviser Mitch Landrieu?

Right now my choice would be Schiff with Holder as vice president. On the GOP side, please, anyone but Trump. The guy who tried to kill democracy should not be a candidate for president.

Ron Carrico, Mission Hills

Let’s put a moderate in the White House

The ideal president elected in 2024 would be a moderate from either party who represents proven bipartisanship and compromise over ideology. The person would articulate a reasonable approach to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, providing legal status for immigrant children but compromises on citizenship, allowing immigrants to “get in line” and setting criteria for citizenship but not guaranteeing it. That eliminates the citizenship issues dividing the two parties.

The person would best exemplify the full meaning of integrity and avoid castigating those who might be in opposition on issues of guns, immigration, sexuality, abortion, crime in general and methods for stabilizing inflation.

Additionally, the person would have some foreign policy positions that preserve U.S. strengths (such as NATO membership), recognize realities and above all have the respect of other nations. The candidates must address how they hope to deal with issues regarding China, Russia and the Middle Eastern nations. A proposal to support modifications to the United Nations Security Council permanent membership would not be a bad idea, with the criteria applying to all members. Of course they’d need a well-defined position on Ukraine if that conflict, God forbid, continues into 2024.

Possible candidates on the Democratic ticket might be Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. Normally a governor or two would be included, but a lot more needs to be learned about our governors and their qualifications for national office. Possible candidates for the Republican Party might be retiring Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. John Kasich, former governor of Ohio, was ideal in 2020, but his time may have passed.

Definitely the person nominated should not be any 2020 election denier or those with extreme positions within either party. A “Great Compromiser” would of course be ideal, as the reality of political divisions with extremes within each party is sure to continue until the next generation of voters realizes it is not a political sin to compromise or to engage in a form of incrementalism that actually advances cures for what ails the country.

Wouldn’t it also be ideal if nominees would actually agree to the voluntary federal election contribution rules? It costs way too much to mount a campaign. The only way to solve that issue is if a nominee would support congressional mandates to those renewing licenses for use of the airwaves to provide a set amount of free air time to candidates on radio and television, including cable. The challenge: How to avoid a free-for-all involving an unrealistic number of candidates?

If I were a Democrat, I would vote for Booker with either Klobuchar or Buttigieg as the running mate.

If I were a Republican, I would vote for Hutchinson with Murkowski or Portman as the running mate.

Michael Jones, Chula Vista

GOP needs to change the party from within

Mitt Romney. That’s my answer to the “who” part of the question above. The “why” part of the question is more complicated.

I’ve been a lifelong Republican since I turned 18 way back in 1976. My mom was a Democrat, my father was a Republican, and I liked the logic my dad used to explain the difference: Republicans wanted lower taxes and less intrusive government; if you were wealthy, being a Republican was better, and if you aspired to one day be wealthy, the same argument applied.

Starting with the first presidential election I could vote in, the year I graduated from high school, when I voted for Gerald Ford who lost to Jimmy Carter, I’ve always preferred to back the Republican presidential candidate. The next election, 1980, I voted for Ronald Reagan. He wasn’t perfect, but he’s easily the best Republican president we’ve had since then.

I stayed true to the Republican Party, voting for George H.W. Bush in 1988. But I lost confidence in him due to the famous “Read my lips. No new taxes” lie, and the debacle with his vice president, Dan Quayle. So in 1992’s election I did something unthinkable: I didn’t vote for a Republican, instead choosing independent candidate Ross Perot. Perot, of course, didn’t win, but it set me on a path of independence and of no longer being beholden to the Republican Party — although I remain a registered Republican to this day.

In the ensuing years, I’ve watched as the Republican Party was co-opted by those who favored a religious, conservative, anti-liberal focus, and that’s not what I had signed up for. I didn’t vote for George W. Bush in 2000 or 2004 nor Donald Trump in 2016. (I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton either — the one presidential election I didn’t vote in, although I voted for the other offices.)

Mitt Romney was the breath of fresh air I was looking for when he ran for president in 2008. He lost in the primary to John McCain, who made the mistake of choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. Romney ran again in 2012, this time winning the Republican nomination. He won 24 states versus 26 plus Washington, D.C., for Barack Obama, but only won 47 percent of the popular vote versus 51 percent for Obama. Romney was the only Republican senator who voted to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2020. That was about as brave as it gets. He was one of only seven Republicans voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial.

There’s a lot to like about Mitt Romney, and no way to expound on why in the limited space remaining. Just do a web search and read his Wikipedia history; you will come away impressed. While my dad had switched his party affiliation to independent long before he passed away in April at 93, I have remained a steadfast Republican for my initial reasons: lower taxes and less intrusive government. Like-minded Republicans need to change the party from the inside, and I can’t do that as an independent. Mitt Romney would be a great step forward.

Greg Jabin, Del Mar

Looking for someone who is smart, worldly

Possible 2024 presidential candidates and/or running mates are Tim Scott, Republican senator from South Carolina; Nimrata Nikki Haley, Republican former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Ron DeSantis, Republican governor of Florida; Harold Ford Jr., Democratic former U.S. representative from Tennessee; Amy Klobuchar, Democratic senator from Minnesota; and/or Pete Buttigieg, Democratic U.S. Secretary of Transportation

What I would like to see in a candidate is someone who is younger than 70, in good physical health and has the mental acuity to do the job. I would like someone who is blind to color, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, marital status and gender. They should value individuals and/or community for what they say and do. They need to be tech-savvy and worldly, and understand that the U.S. is only one part of the world and that what happens here or there affects the U.S.

This person needs to be able to listen to all viewpoints, accept advice, make decisions that are fair and equal, and admit when they were wrong or don’t know the answer to the question. During this person’s campaign, I want to hear ideas on how to solve our problems (energy, border security, immigration, health care, inflation, etc.) and how to work with Congress to resolve these issues.

Pamela Koleber, Lakeside

Look to the past for some good examples

Few people had heard of John F. Kennedy in 1958, or Jimmy Carter in 1974, or Bill Clinton in 1990 or Barack Obama in 2006. Two years out, the eventual nominees may well be unknown to us today.

We can, however, look to past presidents for traits to define our next one. For example, the next president should have:

- The resolve of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who refused to believe in 1932 that democracy was doomed to failure.

- The integrity of Harry Truman, who turned down commercial endorsements, “consulting” opportunities and lobbying contracts, saying that he would never diminish the integrity of the U.S. presidency.

- The inspirational abilities of John F. Kennedy, who rallied the youth of America, saying, “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans born in this century.”

- The inspirational rhetoric of Ronald Reagan, who reignited Americans’ faith in themselves with “a dream of an America that would be a shining city on a hill.”

- The call to action from Barack Obama, energizing the disenfranchised: “We are the change that we seek. Do we participate in the politics of cynicism, or the politics of hope?”

- The worldview of Richard Nixon, who ushered in a new era of U.S.-China relations.

- The worldview of George H.W. Bush, whose detailed knowledge of foreign relationships carried the world peacefully through the breakup of the Soviet Union.

- Bill Clinton’s command of domestic policy and politics that brought about the longest peacetime expansion of the economy in U.S. history.

There are five Democrats on this list and three Republicans, none of whom were perfect. All had flaws, but party politics aren’t as important as the strengths the next president brings to the Oval Office.

Chuck Dunning, La Jolla

Honesty, integrity and maturity matter most

I’m retired from the federal government. I worked in the executive branch in Washington, D.C., and held a secret security clearance. The investigation to ensure I was safe to handle classified information was thorough and invasive. Through checks of former employers and co-workers, neighbors, friends and probably even the laundromat attendee at Speed Queen of Georgetown, my life and times were examined. Before I stepped into the job, the government probably knew more about me than we have known about our presidential candidates. There is much wrong with this picture.

Rather than pick a future candidate, I share what I think would help in choosing a presidential candidate and avoid future train wrecks throughout our government.

Any person announcing candidacy for president should be required to pass a civics test to ensure he or she understands the basics of how our government is supposed to function. This would include knowledge of the House, the Senate, the federal court system and the Supreme Court. He or she would need to know the difference between the three branches of government, what those are and how they function.

All candidates would be thoroughly vetted even before the American people see/hear them in debates with other candidates. Vetting would include for psychological health and emotional stability. A candidate should be able to function at least as well as the average 35-year-old since that is the minimum age requirement for the job. Maturity matters. Vetting should be able to determine if the prospective candidate can function with diplomacy, honesty, integrity and sincerity.

Background checks would be made as if the people were going to be given a top-secret security clearance. This would reveal whom their personal and business associates are and have been; what their business connections are; any trouble they have had with law enforcement, however minor; and, for goodness sake — they must reveal their past tax returns before being accepted as a candidate as a way to demonstrate a minimum degree of financial investment in our country. I would want to hear not only their goals for the administration, but also the basic plans for achieving these goals. Anyone can spout vague promises about goals that sound wonderful. I want to know how they can be achieved.

Basically, I want a president who directly speaks the truth, keeps promises, listens to the advisers, respects the rule of law, understands the importance of institutions in a democracy, works for the people and upholds the Constitution. This is not asking too much from a person who may become the president of the United States.

I want to be able to wake up in the morning, say “Hello” to my cat, and know that my government is still a democracy and my tax dollars are being used wisely.

Addressing climate change is the issue I want to see get attention. If the world is uninhabitable, none of the other issues matter because we won’t be here. Imagine.

Connie Dahl, South Park

We should return to centrist candidates

With the growing extremism of the left and right, centrist presidential candidates have a significant opportunity in 2024. Instead of a focus on grievances from prior elections and payback or policies that are either radical or affect a small group, an executive who will focus on America’s priorities, from near the center, can win.

A candidate that will campaign to hold Congress accountable for major duties will be a good start. For example, what would happen if the candidate said, “Congress has long been dysfunctional. As president, I will not sign any bills until Congress presents me with a bipartisan, complete budget. Congress may threaten to shut the government down, but if they do, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will still be paid. We’ll wait them out.”

Beyond the budget, the candidate must establish other top priorities. One of great interest in San Diego is the long trauma of sewage from Tijuana fouling our beaches. The candidate can ask for funding to pay for an additional, modern sewage treatment plant capable of piping recycled water where needed in Southern California. And if challenged on where the money will come from, let’s knock a few billion dollars off foreign aid.

Our country’s energy plan should be transitional rather than irrational. While focusing on how to achieve green energy and providing appropriate government incentives to do so, we must provide all types of energy to continue America’s growth. A plan for small nuclear plant deployments, tapping out natural gas and ensuring supplies needs to be concurrent with the transition to green energy. An effective centrist candidate can surely provide a logical plan.

The candidate should also present a solid plan to address the immigration and border mess. Rather than hiring all those IRS auditors, the candidate could reduce that number and show a plan to hire and train immigration staff to process the backlog. Concurrently, we need staff to patrol the border and increase contraband detection and interdiction. Why aren’t these efforts being better addressed? Again, the executive needs to hold Congress accountable to the American people. Call out excessive spending, diversions and waste; a refreshing change.

A great teammate for the presidential candidate would be a vice president who could lead a review of military spending. What do we no longer need to be doing that can be cut from the military budget? Let’s make systems more efficient and streamline the procurement process. If the executive branch is going to hold Congress more accountable, we should do the same for the military-industrial complex. It’s not enough or appropriate to just say, “Let’s increase the military budget.”

These priorities and positions would put a centrist team in election contention with the majority of the country, and be especially attractive to those who in the past have been called the silent majority. We need to reduce and overcome noise and attention to the extreme minorities and special interests.

Nikki Haley for president and Tulsi Gabbard for vice president.

Glen Freiberg, Rancho Santa Fe

Eisenhower, Kennedy set good examples

I have been a Republican my entire life. In that time I have seen many presidents, some very good, some bad and many mediocre.

My first vote for president was for Dwight D. Eisenhower, in my view, one of the very good presidents. If you read the many biographies of Eisenhower, you realize how decent a person he was. He did not demonize members of the other party or call them names. He did not call their voters names either. He treated everybody he interacted with with respect even if he disagreed with their views. He left an outstanding legacy, the Interstate Highway System. It would be wonderful to have a president of Eisenhower’s temperament, worldview and understanding of the role that the U.S. should play in the world along with his respect for his fellow citizens, regardless of party.

Another very good president was John F. Kennedy. While his time in office was short, he dealt with the Cuban missile crisis in a solemn and thoughtful way (including soliciting advice from Eisenhower). In spite of the recommendations of his generals to invade Cuba, he used diplomacy and clever maneuvering to convince the Soviets to back down and remove the missiles, avoiding what could have been a disastrous war. Kennedy’s patience in such a stressful situation was amazing given his short time in office. But the thing I remember the most about Kennedy was his famous inauguration speech, where he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Not only an inspiring thought but a vision of the interaction between the country and its citizens that is sorely missing today. The view of our leaders today seems to be, ask what you can get from your country and complain if the country asks for something from you. Kennedy also set a tone for the country of youth, energy, a president with class, devotion to his family, all examples of what we need from our next president. So these two presidents offer examples of what a very good president was, but in this age we need a president with very specific skills. Namely:

1. The president needs to actually manage the executive branch. As a former senior officer in the CIA, I have seen how the government actually works. There is too much waste, way too many people to do the jobs required and a growing influence of people never elected by anybody setting policy and regulations that are often the job of Congress. The president can do this by appointing people to senior positions based solely on competence. The federal work force could easily be cut by 10 percent and it would improve efficiency.

2. Stop thinking the U.S. can solve all the problems in the world. We seem to think we can buy countries’ love with money or solve disputes by going to war. We have gone to wars to “bring democracy” to a country. We fail to understand that not all cultures want to be like the U.S. and not all countries want our brand of democracy. We should interact with other countries like our interests are important.

3. Set the tone for the nation. The president has one platform that nobody else has and that is the “bully pulpit.” He or she should use this forum to set the tone on mutual respect for each other, encourage constructive dialogue between the political parties and stop the demonizing of people because of their race or ethnicity.

4. Finally, we need a president who actually considers the national debt a serious security concern. He or she should seriously engage with Congress to rein in spending and stop the continuing rise in the nation’s debt before it becomes a financial disaster.

While there are a few interesting candidates from both parties, none that I see possess all the criteria above. If some candidate, regardless of party, can fulfill my short list above, he or she will get my vote.

Robert Kohler, Scripps Ranch

McRaven has skills needed in a leader

President Biden remains his party’s best bet for winning the presidency in 2024, but should he decide not to run again, the best person for the job is retired Adm. William H. McRaven. The retired officer, once the four-star commander of United States Special Operation Command and later chancellor of the University of Texas system, possesses the leadership and communication skills required for these turbulent and divisive times. Previously considered by Biden for secretary of defense, this political novice also possesses a couple of traits that make him the ideal candidate to successfully compete against likely Republican candidates.

First, the 67-year-old McRaven has proven his ability to lead and face down mental and physical challenges as a Navy SEAL. During his 37 years of active-duty service, he was a member of elite SEAL Team 6. He later served as commander of Naval Special Warfare Group 1, and eventually commanded Special Operations Command when Osama Bin Laden was tracked down. None of the current tough-talking, flag-waving Republican presidential hopefuls can match that genuine level of leadership, patriotism and machismo.

Second, McRaven has demonstrated a special capacity to inspire in his speeches and writings. He is famous for a commencement speech delivered in 2014. The speech, a combination of common sense and poignant advice, touched a nerve among Americans; a YouTube recording of the speech has received more than 26 million views. Furthermore, a notable 2020 essay he wrote for The Washington Post, published during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped motivate readers by eloquently relating how just like Navy SEAL candidates encourage each other during Hell Week, Americans, too, would rally and show “the compassion and concern that have always characterized this nation of good people.” The essay’s tone was a far cry from President Trump’s desire to view COVID-19 as nothing but a threat to his own popularity.

Third, should former President Trump receive the Republican nomination, the stark contrast between McRaven and the 45^th president of the U.S. will be on display for everyone to observe and evaluate, as previously documented by a history of past news articles and opinion pieces detailing their respective opinions of each other. In 2019, McRaven argued in an essay in The New York Times that Trump’s dangerous rhetoric toward the press was “the greatest threat to democracy” in his lifetime. In 2020, he criticized Trump’s proclivity for making “presidential ego and self-preservation” more important than national security. Trump’s reaction to the criticism involved the small-minded idea (eventually rejected on the encouragement of advisers) of recalling McRaven to active duty for the purpose of court-martialing him.

Finally, as a University of Texas graduate, and as former chancellor of the UT system, McRaven’s value as the Democrats’ candidate would be fully exploited by his ability to put Texas’ bloc of 38 electoral votes into play. No Republican candidate could survive the loss of these crucial electoral votes.

Gen. Eisenhower ran and won as a political novice in 1952. McRaven could follow in his footsteps.

Democrats have been best for economy

If Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee, I will vote for him. I feel he is doing a good job despite his age. He has good people advising him and he listens to their advice instead of firing them if he doesn’t like what they tell him. He is low-key, but he helped pass an infrastructure bill that we sorely needed and a deficit reduction and climate change bill. He is willing to compromise to get things done.

I am hopeful we will hear more about other qualified Democrats for the future. The press has a big role to play in informing the public about qualified candidates, both Republican and Democrat, not just the latest outrage from Donald Trump.

I want the campaign to be about ideas to solve our problems, climate change, homelessness and immigration being chief among them. I don’t want culture wars fought over mask mandates, book banning and “critical race theory.”

I want to see candidates who can admit it if they were wrong or have done something that shows insensitivity. I want candidates who treat people with respect, even those who criticize them.

Even when I disagreed with Republican officeholders, I always felt they had the good of the country at heart. I did not feel that way with Donald Trump in office.

Republicans often claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility, yet 10 of the 11 recessions started during Republican administrations. Six of the seven administrations with the highest job creation since World War II were Democratic and six of the seven administrations with the lowest were Republican. Every Republican President since Ronald Reagan has presided over a huge expansion of the federal debt, including Donald Trump, who added about $8 trillion to the national debt. This is information from The Week, a magazine that reprints articles from both conservative and progressive publications.

There are many women who would be excellent candidates and perhaps it’s time for a woman. I feel they are not as egocentric as many men yet can be just as tough. We need candidates who are willing to compromise, are empathetic as well as knowledgeable and innovative. Our civic life has become so mean and I think the example has come from the top. People say nasty things on social media because they can be anonymous. We have become too lazy to check our sources of information to be sure they are true.

Perhaps all this is too much to expect from one person, but that is why we are not (yet) a dictatorship. Our system of checks and balances means each branch of our government can prevent one person from having too much power, and the ideas and skills of many make us stronger.

Joan Suffredini, Carlsbad

Klobuchar has proven herself to be worthy

I would like to see Amy Klobuchar make another run for president and for the same reasons that I voted for her in the 2020 Democratic primary. She has proven herself to be a highly effective senator who works hard on the issues that better the lives of her constituents in her home state of Minnesota as well as all Americans — issues that have positively impacted education, job growth, consumer protections, the economy, the infrastructure, health care and the environment. Sen. Klobuchar consistently works across the aisle, a concept that has fallen by the wayside with members of both parties. Our country desperately needs to return to a measure of decency, respect and collaboration. Sen. Klobuchar has consistently demonstrated those ideals.

Amy has proven leadership instincts. She has served on the Joint Economic Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee; she is the chairwoman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights; she is the chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee; and is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

I’m hopeful that our first woman president will be Amy Klobuchar. She has dedicated herself to public service while consistently demonstrating high moral character and values that I admire — compassion, patience and persistence. Combine those values with her stellar education and effective leadership and you have a candidate who we would be proud to call Madam President.

Julie Conklin, Vista