Charles Todorich’s recent Maine Voices column (Dec. 8) was mostly piling on and gloating – a wordy equivalent of yelling “Nyah, nyah, we won, you lost!”

Dredging up various past charges against Hillary Clinton is in this category. So is rehashing election nght. Equating the mistakes of Tojo and the Japanese leadership after Pearl Harbor with Clinton’s recent campaign is what really bothered me and caused me to write.

Yes. It’s true that leaders throughout history have made serious mistakes because of arrogance, and Japan’s military policies in the 1930s and 1940s are an example. However, that history is irrelevant to today’s political situation, and is an attempt to smear Clinton by association.

Regarding the “arrogance” issue, I think most people (wherever they are on the ideological spectrum) would agree it takes something like “nerve” and egotism to run for high political office. Whatever you call it, Clinton does have a lot of it, and so does Donald Trump, just like almost everyone who runs for governor, Congress and president. When you win, they call it “boldness”; when you lose, it is called “arrogance” or worse.

If anything, I think Hillary should have been bolder at times, such as much more directly calling Trump on his weird behavior during the second debate, when he was prowling around behind her like some kind of caged lion.

Since I am a Bernie Sanders supporter, I would call it a bold move to appoint Keith Ellison as Democratic National Committee chair. Yes, he is a strong liberal and a Muslim. So what?

On the other hand, re-electing Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader was probably just a mistake due to inertia, but if it ends up being considered a really bad move, then how could I disagree with someone who calls “arrogance”?

John Ersek

Gorham

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