Give respect to worthy candidates

Lloyd Carter (letter Feb. 4) said that all candidates for president are “clown-car occupants.” I disagree.

Hillary Clinton is a trained professional lawyer, a governor’s and president’s first lady closely involved in policy, a United States senator and secretary of state who has endured extremely close public scrutiny for 40 years despite teams of partisan lawyers and politicians with unlimited public funds trying to bring her down.

She has earned friends and connections with influential makers, shakers and intellectuals throughout the world. She is a mother, a grandmother and a natural born leader.

Bernie Sanders has spent most of his 74 years running full speed to make the country a better place, eschewing personal gain in the process. With little more than the force of his personality and intelligence he became recognized as one of the best mayors of the United States and a nonpartisan Independent congressman and senator with a reputation for working with Democrats and Republicans.

I do not understand why many on the right and left feel it is necessary to tear people down for devoting their lives to public service, and I am sick and tired of the relentlessly negative appraisal of candidates regardless of their accomplishments.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 5:53 AM with the headline "Give respect to worthy candidates."