Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• James Brandt in his commentary "Even a poor candidate can make a good president" (Opinion Exchange, May 29), states that he may vote for Donald Trump for president, indicating that his preference isn't for Trump's character but his policies.
That sentiment is often expressed by those supporting Trump but I would hope that he and all other voters would not forget nor set aside the powerful words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who stated that "The presidency is not merely an administrative office. That's the least of it.
It is more than an engineering job, efficient or inefficient. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership. All our great presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified.
" Dale Anderson, Eagan ••• Reading Brandt's piece making a case that Trump was a good president — despite being a bad person — made me feel badly for Brandt. As a liberal, I don't have to face that dilemma. Do I vote for a person who supports my political perspectives, even though they lack moral character? Brandt cites specifics.
Of course, we liberals can counter all his specific "accomplishments" of Trump with our own specifics. For instance, Brandt cites Trump's COVID vaccine "warp speed" development, but overlooks Trump's dismissal of the COVID threat as a mere ca.