Who are these ”good, decent people” Annie Schaff (Letters, Nov. 20) says the Republican sweep of the elections restored hope and faith into the hearts of?

Wealthy campaign contributors whose lobbyists are in a position to write legislation that will make them richer (and the rest of us poorer).

Working people who haven’t been paying attention. I’m hoping these people will realize that Republican polices are the reason their paychecks are shrinking (if they can keep their jobs), they can’t afford to send their kids to college, their parents’ Medicare benefits don’t cover costs, and their own Social Security benefits may be gone by the time they retire.

Belligerent people who relish the thought of pulverizing other countries with our superior military might. These people drool while watching Ariel Sharon’s bulldozers plow into Palestinian houses on TV.

Terrified people who think spying on American citizens will makes us safe. These people miss Joe McCarthy and see him resurrected in John Ashcroft.

It doesn’t take a “smug pseudo-intellectual” to spot the con man under George W. Bush’s “florid ravings” of compassion and piety. Just look at what Bush does, whom he serves, whom he cheats. He’s not the first politician to fool a majority of the American people.

I’m puzzled by Ms. Schaff’s question: “By what authority” does Rick Levin “instruct us on what art, books and music to appreciate?”An arts critic tells us what he thinks about art, books and music. Authority doesn’t come into it.

Taste and artistic insight and felicitous language are what count in the arts critic biz. In this reader’s opinion, Rick Levin has these qualifications in abundance, and the Whidbey News-Times is lucky to have him.

Ann Adams

Oak Harbor