To the Editor:

The best question asked during the Democratic candidates TV debate last Sunday did not come from one of the CNN "professionals." It came from Ivy Merrill, a substitute elementary school teacher, who was in the audience, and who got to ask the final question of the evening. She asked the candidates what their top priority would be during their first 100 days in office. The answers told us more about the candidates than any of the babble that went on up to that point of the debate. The main thing we learned is that Kucinich ("Be a president who helps to reshape the world for peace"); Richardson ("I would upgrade our schools"); Edwards ("To travel the world - re-establish America's moral authority in the world"); and Obama ("The second priority is getting moving on health care…"), need to restudy the Constitution, which does not authorize the federal government to be involved in any of those activities! Indeed, the answers given by Kucinich, Richardson and Edwards, sound like responses that might be given by Miss America candidates, rather than presidential candidates. Kudos to Clinton and Biden, whose priorities ("end the war and bring the troops home") are within the Constitutional authority of the Commander In Chief (and in fairness to Obama, he also mentioned that he would stop the war); but the top prize goes to Chris Dodd who said, "I'd try to restore the constitutional rights in our country. This administration has done great damage to them. I would do that on the first day. I wouldn't wait 100 days on those items." Bravo! The Declaration of Independence explains that the purpose of government is to secure the unalienable rights endowed to us by our Creator, not to "reshape the world for peace" or "upgrade our schools" etc. Dodd's interest in restoring constitutional rights is good news. Unfortunately, that good news is more than offset by the bad news of his Senate voting record on the budget, the economy, civil rights, crime, education, energy, the environment, gun control, health care, immigration, jobs, social security, tax reform and a few other issues. Too bad, because we are in dire need of a president who acknowledges that the Bill of Rights is routinely trampled by the federal government, and it is time to reverse course. Thus far, republican candidate Congressman Ron Paul (a Libertarian in Republican clothing, and clearly a long shot) is the best candidate who meets that criterion.

Chuck Esposito

Suches, Ga.