Doesn't anyone see the hypocrisy? How can congressional leaders like Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Nancy Pelosi accuse the administration of failure to monitor Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when they have shared this oversight responsibility? How do they claim to be working for our country yet choose to incite and divide the Congress they lead?

How can Sen. Joe Biden challenge the patriotism of all taxpayers when the measure of his own community support is seen in a few hundred dollars of charitable contributions he was able to squeak out of millions of dollars of his personal earnings?

How can Sen. Barack Obama challenge the qualifications of Gov. Sarah Palin yet refuse to directly address similar questions when they are posed to him? How can Obama profess to be the agent of change when he surrounds himself with the advisers and Democratic leaders who all had ample opportunity to enact change, or at least protect Main Street from unbridled greed?

How can the authors of recent letters to this newspaper profess a desire for fairness, yet will ignore the facts and attack individuals whose opinions differ from their own?

I am voting for John McCain. I know he is the better candidate. Regardless of the outcome, we all need to work hard to preserve the values that make our country strong. We must abandon the hypocrisy, engage in healthy fact-based debate and praise those leaders who honestly try to do their best.

TOM MacMULLIN

Concord