Sympathy and sadness

Re “Regrets, he has a few,” Jan. 13

Watching President Bush give his last news conference, I felt two things for him for the first time in his tumultuous and disastrous presidency: sympathy and sadness.

Sadness for a man who clearly feels that he is misunderstood, and sympathy as I watch that man so desperately trying to reshape the dominant perception of his two terms in the White House -- and his legacy.

He has, at long last, revealed himself to be a tragic figure. He clearly does not understand how his antics, attitude and shortsighted policies have severely damaged our nation’s standing in the world community -- and how we are perceived as having lost our clear moral compass.

When he addressed Hurricane Katrina, he almost defiantly pointed out the quick response of the “chopper drivers” -- again not understanding that we are not judged by the details of our efforts but by our overall results. And the results of his horrible mishandling of that disaster are clearly etched in most of our minds.

Marshall Aren

Laguna Beach

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It’s tragic that during Bush’s news conference, he finally admitted to making some mistakes during his presidency. I only wish that he had done all of this when it mattered the most -- when he knew it was a mistake. In my opinion, it is now too late.

Joe Martinez

El Segundo