Reading the headline "brainy budgeter" took me to the tale The Wizard of Oz. Ryan reminds me of the Tin Man who wanted a heart. The Cowardly Lion, is to my mind, Romney, who is too frightened to reveal his thinking on most issues. And the Straw Man who wanted a brain is John Boehner, who has a brain but is so solidified in one direction I'm surprised he doesn't walk at a 90-degree angle. Now we come to the Wizard behind the curtain, revealed as the ultimate con man and manipulator, corporate America.

Where is our Glinda who will come tap her heels and save us all? Vote, people.

Belle Shalom

Bellingham