I read Ted Theodorsen's letter regarding Joe Lieberman's presidential candidacy. Apparently, Ted feels Senator Leiberman's strong religious beliefs prevent him from becoming an effective president. Ted goes on to say that a Protestant is best suited to lead us "in the way our founding fathers envisioned it." Common sense, much less common decency, requires me to respond.

Under Jewish law you must first respect the civil law of the country in which you reside. If there was a conflict between civil law and Jewish law, it is the civil law that is honored. A US government official's first mandated duty is to "defend and protect the Constitution." To assume Joe Leiberman would sit frozen on a Saturday, any more than President Bush would on a Sunday, is ludicrous. If meaningful decisions were required, Joe Lieberman, in his prior campaign, indicated that, irrelevant of the day, the decisions would be made. President Bush's religious beliefs are no less stronger or weaker than Senator Lieberman's. Using Ted's logic, one would be hard pressed to figure out how Israel survived the 1973 Yom Kipper War. (Yom Kipper being the holiest day in the Jewish religion.)

Ted's commentary on Joe Lieberman sounds conspicuously similar to criticism of John Kennedy ruling through the Vatican. Those comments in 1960 were as ignorant as Ted's are today.

John Rubin