Editor,

I would like to address two things in Robert Brown’s Aug. 30 letter to the editor.

First, Brown stated, “Terry Ann Gallagher and Johnston referred to President Barack Obama as being ‘much loved.’”

This was not the case.

I said that Obama was elected twice in a row with more than 51 percent of the popular vote, which indicated a majority of the populace preferred him over the alternatives.

The distinction is considerable.

That leads me to my second, and final, point.

Brown wondered what math system I used to determine that Obama was the first president in more than five decades to win the election twice in a row with more than 51 percent of the popular vote.

The systems I used were comparative analysis and basic subtraction, both of which are commonly taught in the first grade.

Since Brown stated that I might be right in my stipulation that Obama is the only president in more than five decades to win two terms with more than 51 percent of the popular vote if we do not count Presidents Reagan or Clinton, I will use their results as an example of how I came to that determination.

Popular Vote, by percentage, by election year, per president:

President Ronald Reagan

1980 election: 50.8 percent

1984 election: 58.8 percent

President William Jefferson Clinton

1992 election: 43 percent

1996 election: 49.2 percent

President Barack Obama

2008 election: 52.9 percent

2012 election: 51.1 percent

Using comparative analysis, we see that since Reagan won 50.8 percent of the popular vote in 1992, an amount less than 51 percent, and Bill Clinton never won with more than 49.2 percent of the vote, also an amount less than the 51 percent mentioned, neither won twice in a row with greater than 51 percent of the popular vote.

Using subtraction, the difference between 1956 — when Dwight D. Eisenhower won election to his second term with greater than 51 percent of the popular vote — and 2012 (first or second grade subtraction), is 56 years.

Comparative analysis shows us that 56 years is greater than five decades. Ergo, Obama is the only U.S. president in more than five decades to win by more than 51 percent in both terms.

Hopefully, this provides the clarification Mr. Brown sought.

Richard Johnston

Douglas, Ariz.