Public Pulse
Published Friday July 9, 2004

Kerry's pick shocked

I was absolutely stunned to hear that U.S. Sen. John Edwards was selected by Sen. John Kerry to run for vice president on his ticket. The idea that Sen. Edwards could do a better job than Dick Cheney is absolutely outrageous.

Vice President Cheney has spent years as an elected official. Cheney served as President Ford's chief of staff. Following his service in the White House, Cheney was elected five times by the people of Wyoming to serve in the House of Representatives and even held the title of minority whip.

After working in the House, Cheney served all Americans as our secretary of defense for four years. In that capacity, Cheney helped lead us through the Gulf War. For the last four years, he has been our vice president.

Edwards, on the other hand, has yet to complete his first term in the Senate. Before that, though, Edwards apparently didn't even have a desire to take part in the political process. Ac- cording to the Charlotte Observer, Edwards voted in only nine of the 18 elections he could have from 1991 to 1998.

Now America is faced with the decision of whether to put Sen. Edwards a heartbeat from the Oval Office. Is there even a choice here?

Eric J. Hamilton, Omaha