Letters to the Editor | Oct. 18, 2024

Women make up more than half of the U.S. population, and yet we still hear the questions: Is the U.S. ready for a female president? Is Pennsylvania ready for a female president? According to the Pew Research Center, about a third of United Nations member states have had a female head of state. Mexico just elected its first female president. Let’s break through the old prejudices and look at the facts. Demonstrated leadership, intelligence, competence, devotion to the rule of law, and the betterment of this country — Kamala Harris has the qualifications our nation needs. As attorney general of California, leading the largest state justice department in the country, as a senator, and as vice president, she has demonstrated repeatedly how well and effectively she will work for the people. Harris is not only superbly qualified to be president, but she is the only candidate who is qualified.

Nancy J. Shaw, Havertown

On Sunday, the Democratic candidate for president of the United States celebrates her 60th birthday. As a man who has been raised by a single mother, reared by my grandmother, and has been mentored by a host of aunts and other women from my community, I can easily identify with issues concerning women. In October, we also acknowledge breast cancer awareness. In her candidacy, Harris has reminisced about her personal experience with the illness as it relates to her mother’s quest to combat the cancer to which she eventually succumbed. I personally thank Harris for campaigning on real-life issues and situations.

Wayne E. Williams, Camden

If Kamala Harris loses this election, the fault will be hers. One of the perceived strengths of Donald Trump is his handling of the economy. Apparently, no one remembers the mishandling of the pandemic by Trump, and the economic free fall our country and the rest of the world took toward a crippling depression only four short years ago. Remember the sinking stock market, the rocketing unemployment, businesses going under, and foreclosures on homes? Remember supply-chain disruptions and the hoarding of essentials like toilet paper? It took massive economic stimulus, championed by Joe Biden, to get us out of this. Yes, we had 9% inflation from the shortages and the new stimulus money, but look where we are now. The Dow is reaching record highs, inflation is 2.4%, unemployment is 4.1%, and the United States has the strongest economy in the world. Harris and her team need to remind the American people of this and of our recent economic history.

Michael R. Seidner, Gwynedd

Some people claim they are not interested in politics and therefore are not going to vote. Hopefully, this quick story will change their minds. A young woman was raped. Immediately after the incident, she went to the hospital where they administered a rape kit and offered her a “morning after” pill to prevent pregnancy. Now put yourself in the place of this young woman, her boyfriend, or her family, and ask yourself whether she should have the option of taking or not taking that pill? Which candidate gets elected to office (at all levels) will dictate whether that woman even has that choice. As a point of reference, a recent study estimated there were more than 64,000 pregnancies due to rape in states that enacted abortion bans post-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Your vote on this and other issues truly matters.

Kent Kingan, Malvern

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