Citizens missed a valuable opportunity to meet candidates in elections

Editor:

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I attended the Grovetown Stump Meeting last Thursday night. I was disappointed that more citizens failed to make the effort to attend the meeting. With one of the most important elections on the horizon, it would seem to me that Americans such as me would truly find an interest in electing their state and national leaders.

While there are people in countries that are experiencing democracy for the very first time, the example we set here in the United States is truly beyond poor.

I thought that Denise Freeman was perhaps the most dynamic speaker of the evening, followed closely by Bill Greene and Nate Pulliam. I liked how Paul Broun came out from behind the podium, but after doing so his level of energy seemed to be at a minimum. I also liked Mark Meyers' presentation; however, I thought when his supporters held up the picture of the late President Reagan, that was just cheesy.

I liked Brett McGuire's presentation, although he spoke too quickly. Lee Benedict seemed to struggle through his presentation as if he was not fully prepared and experienced trouble overcoming his nervousness. I was very disappointed that Jim Whitehead could not attend; however, his spokesperson proved to be well-versed in expressing her dialogue.

I felt that all the candidates could have left off more of their history and could have added content to their presentations regarding the planks of their platforms. No single candidate addressed the issue of abortion, leaving me to believe that none of them were ready to step forward and openly express their views regarding this subject.

I paid close attention to all of these fine men and women while they spoke about themselves and took notes as to what they had to say. While many gave tidbits as to what ideas and issues were important to them, most failed to say how they would achieve a solution to the issues that our nation has identified as being most important. Eric Underwood did, however, state he had a solution to the government problems in Iraq, though I must be honest: I am skeptical that the Iraqi people will agree to such a plan.

Thank you to the people who put the Stump Meeting together.

Michael S. Maloney

Grovetown