I must take exception to Ronnie L. Herrold (letter, Nov. 25) and several others’ assertions that Barack Obama is “the most inexperienced president-elect ever.” While one could obviously point to George Washington, I would remind aggrieved Republicans that George W. Bush’s experience included (1) a failed run for the U.S. House of Representatives; (2) a Texas governorship consisting of a record number of rubber-stamped executions and a burdensome schedule of ribbon-cuttings and rodeos; and (3) assisting his father’s campaign (when he wasn’t attending Ranger baseball games).

Moreover, as the first president trumpeted as having “earned” an MBA degree, no one pointed out that Dubya’s prior business experience was a consistent record of failures, something that resonantly echoed during his dismal term of office.

But as the now-experienced President Bush gets ready to ride off into the Texan sunset, may I suggest an architectural scheme for his presidential library that has caused no little embarrassment for its future site, Southern Methodist University, his wife’s alma mater? I think the whole structure should be built underground with a tastefully obscured entrance and a few shrub-bedecked ventilation pipes. This way, SMU’s campus would not be despoiled and the edifice would reflect the Bush administration’s predilections for secrecy and a bunker mentality.

Jim Hejduk, Lincoln

Obama is a mere politician

Before people drown in a sea of euphoria over the election of Barack Obama, they should grab onto some common sense. The man is just a slick Chicago politician, not a god, who has surrounded himself with advisers from the Chicago political machine.

It is neither un-American nor disloyal nor prejudiced to criticize him. The compassionate man people claim him to be twice voted against diverting earmark funds to help rebuild a bridge damaged by Hurricane Katrina. He voted for the Bridge to Nowhere and against rebuilding a badly needed bridge in Louisiana. The man is not magic; he does not change his tune overnight.

Have faith in him and Congress? Ha! My book says “put not thy trust in princes.” I worship God, not man and especially not politicians.

The sappy adulation pouring forth from Garrison Keillor’s column (LJS, Nov. 16), the claims of greatness, the reference to the “prince from the prairie” (he grew up mainly in Hawaii) and the comparisons to Teddy Roosevelt and the tales of how slaves built the White House for him and his wife (Amy Goodman column, LJS, Nov. 16) are ridiculous.

He is a mere politician, nothing more. And he is certainly no JFK and cannot even approach what we lost when Bobby died. About the only change he’s accomplished so far is to appoint old Clinton people to government posts.

Jacque Lumb, Fremont

Good habits help students

Improving your grades requires a little sacrifice, including quitting smoking, turning off the TV and going to bed. All of these can improve your grades by a lot.

“Teetotalers reported an average GPA of 3.31 compared with a 2.99 for students who drank excessively at least once in the previous two weeks,” according to the article, “Good health equals better grades” (LJS, Nov. 7). I can relate to most of these except for smoking. I agree with this article on how smoking, drinking and stress can affect your life.

While I was in high school, I was very careless about what I did with my time, and in turn it affected my school, my sleep and work.

In addition, on the weekends I would drink excessively and would work from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday mornings. I would get hardly any sleep on the weekends. After a couple of months of doing this, I noticed my grades falling drastically.

I decided to change my whole lifestyle, which entailed not drinking, studying and eating better.

In doing all of this, I saw a huge change in my grades and in my outlook on life.

The next time students get asked to go out and drink, I hope they consider the end results and how it will affect their life.

Raquel Herrera, Lincoln

Death penalty necessary

I would like to express my concern that the death penalty is necessary.

I know that many citizens point to the Eighth Amendment, but I would like them to realize that the Fifth Amendment states, “No persons shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury … nor be deprived of life without the due process of law ….”

This clearly allows the death penalty to be forced and proves that the death penalty is not one of the “cruel and unusual punishments” outlawed by the Eighth Amendment. Let’s face it, we are in the 21st century, and heinous crimes are increasing every day. This is why it is necessary to enforce the death penalty for particularly heinous crimes.

The most common method of execution is lethal injection, which is painless; therefore, it is not cruel and unusual. Execution also cuts down on murderers, which in turn leads to fewer innocent victims. There are sufficient safeguards against executing criminals, so the danger of executing the innocent is very unlikely.

Heinous criminals should be executed so they do not have a chance of committing another crime.

Paige Priefert, Lincoln