I listened to King Abdullah of Jordan on C-Span when he addressed Congress. His topic was peace in the Middle East.

This he said was attainable only if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was settled. He urged President Bush to give this his utmost attention. I gathered that King Abdullah was fond of FDR because he quoted him several times. The king comes over as intelligent and sincere and seems genuinely to like America.

If Bush got his act together, he could go down in history as a leader instead of one of the worst presidents we have ever had. His legacy of the Iraq war could be overshadowed by bringing stability and non-aggression to Palestine and Israel - not loving each other but respecting each other to live in peace and security.

The Bush administration needs to get religion out of its agenda and be fair-minded. The Jewish lobby's hold on this country and Bush's wearing his religion on his sleeve lead me to believe there is no real desire to be involved.

President Carter has become more of a statesman than when he was president. His new book tries to address Palestinian concerns and what Israel has to do to reconcile the differences.

The United States cuts off all ties with Hamas because Hamas says the "Jews do not have a right to exist." This reminds me of the song we sang as children: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." Every democratic state knows Israel has a right to exist. Perhaps through diplomacy, engagement and aid, this can be erased from the lips of Hamas. If not, so what? Everyone knows differently.

I remember a quote from another Roosevelt: "Walk softly, but carry a big stick."

ROSEMARY MELLON

Franklin