Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Editor, The Times:

Not being terribly politically minded, I’m still waiting to see if King County executive candidate Susan Hutchison is quoted anywhere stating an opinion on anything ["Hutchison slams Constantine at debate," page one, Sept. 23].

I am wondering what she thinks of the possible disaster awaiting with the Howard Hanson Dam. Why do Hurricane Katrina and former FEMA director Michael Brown come to mind?

There are all kinds and types of problems in our county, and I can’t envision Hutchison leading us, especially remembering her as a television news anchor. Very lovely indeed but I don’t think that is nearly enough in this day and age.

How does that old saying go? Be afraid. Be very afraid. I know I am.

— Rick Grager, Enumclaw

Not the first time for such polls

I was one of those who were polled [“Poll queries about candidate criticized,” NWSaturday, Sept. 19], and through negative questioning it was obvious the pollster was against King County executive candidate Dow Constantine.

This tactic was quite common and still is in use with anti-Reichert forces. The aim with these telephone polls is not to understand what the constituency wants, but to gain favorable votes for a candidate.

I kept trying to tell the pollster his King County poll was missing the point. I got the idea he was not interested in King County, but more interested in destroying Constantine’s chances at the ballot box.

As an opinionated person, I like to use these polls to relate my ideas, but this anti-Constantine poll, similar to the anti-Reichert polls, did not provide that capability.

— Jim Morris, Renton

A page from Karl Rove’s playbook.

The Hutchison campaign’s phony and snide poll attempting to smear Constantine seems straight out of former White House political adviser Karl Rove’s playbook.

— Martin Paup, Seattle