Tackling the Delicate Issue of Race

'Obama, Race and Us': Readers mulled over the question of whether America is ready to elect a black president. One insisted, "The question is unnecessary and should not be asked." Another said, "Most voters, no matter what color, are not as concerned with people's skin color as they are with the high cost of food and gas, affordable health care and decent jobs." And one posited, "The question isn't 'Are we ready for a black president?' Rather, are we ready for a president with the intellect, the vision, the demeanor and diverse life experience of Barack Obama?"

Focusing on What Unites Us
If we stopped talking about race, maybe we could forget our divisions and remember that Barack Obama is as American as any of us ("A Memo to Senator Obama," June 2). Let's not focus on skin color or a raving ex-pastor, but on the real problems: war, the economy and the environment. We can choose to move forward or resort to politics as usual.
Arush Sarwar
Kenner, La.

Evan Thomas reiterates a comment made by Sen. Jim Webb that the Scots-Irish in the hills of Appalachia are like "tortured siblings of black Americans." Thomas adds, "If poor rural whites and African-Americans could sit down together, they would find they have much in common." Why do people continue to lump all African-Americans together? They are not one group. There are poor rural and urban blacks. You may suggest that "poor rural blacks have something in common with the folks in Appalachia," but I who am a middle-class black have nothing in common with them. You have to make the distinction between African-Americans, West Indians, Africans and others who are so culturally different from each other. Race is such a complex issue, and Richard Rodriguez, in "See the Brown in Us" (June 2), seems to have begun the conversation. He gets it.
Shirley Moulton
New York, N.Y.

Instead of all the ranting and raving of what race is or is not, the media's task ought to be to douse the fire that fans the embers of racial prejudice. Barack Obama's political gospel is transformative because it seeks to dispel old stereotypes while promoting Martin Luther King Jr.'s message that we judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Obama, by all accounts, is an extension of past messages of hope and healing that everyone must embrace, including those who reside in Appalachia.
George Onuorah
Corona, N.Y.

Unifying America ' s Evangelicals
Lisa Miller dubbed the "Evangelical Manifesto" "milquetoast" ("The Milquetoast Manifesto," June 2). But in today's culture of polarization, it is actually quite bold to refuse to be fractious. Even in the heat of the culture wars, the race does not always go to the swift nor the battle to the loud and noisy. If Abraham Lincoln's far greater "with malice toward none" was milquetoast in its time, we who publish "An Evangelical Manifesto" are content to speak out and wait. If evangelicals decide they have no need to reform, and Americans show no interest in an evangelical offer of civility, so be it. As the One we follow said many times, "Whoever has an ear to hear, let him hear." The choice and the consequences are anything but milquetoast. Democracy and faith will flourish only if we have the courage to reject polarization and embrace civility.
Os Guinness and David Neff
"An Evangelical Manifesto" Steering Committee
Washington, D.C.

Corrections
In "A Secret Side to the Secret Service" (June 2), we misidentified the first name of the special agent in charge of the James J. Rowley Training Center. She is Renee Triplett.

"Blog Books Go For Broke" (PERISCOPE, June 2) stated that a 2006 book by the creators of the DailyCandy Web site had sold approximately 11,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan. BookScan tracks only mainstream sales outlets and does not provide comprehensive industry figures; including sales through specialty outlets, the DailyCandy book has actually sold 44,337 copies. NEWSWEEK regrets the errors.