Democrats represent working Americans

From his letter, Mr. Johnson doesn’t seem to like lawyers running for office, and thinks the GOP is made up of “real people doing real work.” On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer who built the Republican party into a strong national organization. Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were not lawyers but were early leaders of the Democratic party.

The fact that George W. Bush got an MBA from Harvard doesn’t make him a businessman. Richard Nixon was a lawyer, and of course Ronald Reagan was an entertainer and an actor — not exactly doing “real work.”

Going back a ways, Harry Truman was a haberdasher, and Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer — both doing “real work.” More recently, Howard Dean, who campaigned for the presidency and was Democratic Party chairman, was a medical doctor.

Bill Clinton, who ran for governor in his home state, didn’t practice law for any length of time, nor did President Obama, who was a community organizer before running for the Illinois senate.

Lawyers seem to gravitate to politics finding a knowledge of our laws helpful in governing. Both parties show a mix of lawyers, and it’s hard to say whether lawyers or non-lawyers make better presidents or presidential candidates. We do know that lawyer President Obama and (non-lawyer) candidate Al Gore have both won Nobel Peace prizes.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party always has — and currently does — represent working Americans and their dreams for a better life.

JAMES W. RAMSEY

Kootenai