Re: your Dec. 22 editorial, “Yes, it was a big deal�:
The editorial, which stated that it was a big deal that the first lady had a small tumor removed from her shin and that the White House was remiss in not telling the public immediately, raised some questions in my mind.
Is The Star not aware that many, many Americans have small lesions removed from their skin? It is a very common occurrence, and it is not at all alarming nor newsworthy that Laura Bush would experience this.
The Star commented that Mrs. Bush is an influential public figure and had presided over the opening of a summit on malaria and given the keynote address. Now this is news, but I missed The Star’s coverage of it. Was it substantial? The Star also referenced her leading an AIDS mission to Africa last year. Did The Star publish adequate coverage of this very important world event? Were there pictures? I checked The Star’s archives and found only 17 references to Mrs. Bush, and most of them were very minor mentions.
It is unfortunate The Star gave so little space to Mrs. Bush, who, in The Star’s words, is an “influential public figure(s),� except when it uses valuable editorial space to criticize the administration about an inconsequential fact.
— Marion Schillo, Thousand Oaks
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