A comparison of the two men who ran against each other for president of the United States in the year 2000 is very revealing.

On the one hand, we have President George W. Bush, who won this office under troubling circumstances.

The monumental nature of his incompetence as president came to light in the face of the two profound catastrophes that struck the nation during his "reign" i.e. the aftermath of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina. In both events he proved incapable of comprehending the real nature of these tragedies. In the first instance, he squandered the nation's human and economic resources pursuing an illegal and ill-advised war against the erstwhile sovereign state of Iraq. In the second instance, the degree of his ineptitude in dealing with this crisis is part of the public record.

In comparison, Al Gore has demonstrated clearly and without any doubt the magnitude of his intellectual and emotional strengths. It is my deeply felt hope that the American electorate has learned that emotional and intellectual capabilities should be important and essential measures of a person's ability to serve in such a capacity.

To my thinking, Al Gore is the winner after all.

Joseph Aprile

Olympic Heights