Sir, Anatole Kaletsky (Comment, Feb 2) writes: “For the past five years America has been led by a president who is clearly not up to the job — a man who is not only inarticulate but lacking in judgment, intelligence, integrity, charisma or staying power.” He then proceeds to tell us that, under Mr Bush’s leadership, America seems to be “stronger, more prosperous and self-confident than ever”.

George W. Bush has an undergraduate degree from Yale University, a graduate degree from Harvard, was two-term governor of our second-largest state and a two-term President of the United States. Mr Bush qualified to pilot a modern high- performance jet fighter aircraft.

I have often observed that British society tends to be process-oriented and American society results-oriented. You measure politicians on their debating prowess — we admire people who produce results and get the job done. This, by his own admission, “baffles” Mr Kaletsky. So what?

DR WARREN W. WILLIAMS
Mumbles, Swansea

Sir, Anatole Kaletsky hasn’t told the half of it. Bush a dolt? Perhaps. But when did the British ever look at Blair, Brown, Prescott, etc, and say: “These are men of such surpassing wisdom and vision that we are glad — yea, positively over the moon — to have them take 40 per cent of all our wealth so that they can manage our lives for us.”

As Kaletsky says, at least the Americans have some freedom outside the state. How much do we have?

KENNETH MINOGUE
London SW6

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