What message should we take away from the Republican presidential convention and campaign? One message seems clear: Romney and the current Republican leadership believe the legacy of the Bush administration is so toxic that they are acting as if it never happened. Bush is being shunned, and neither Bush nor Cheney was acknowledged, or invited to speak at the convention.

But, Romney and the Republican leadership claim they can accelerate job growth and revitalize our economy. How? By restoring the Bush tax cuts, implementing additional tax cuts, and cutting back regulations or, in other words, by pursuing the signature policies of the Bush administration - the ones that led to the worst economic crisis since the "Great Depression."

So, another message I believe we can take away from the convention and campaign is that Romney and the Republican leadership believe the voting public is either stupid, or that many will vote against their economic interests in order to further specific personal social policy objectives.

Some of those social policy objectives are spelled out in the Republican party platform. They include banning gay marriage, banning abortion and most methods of contraception, "voucherizing" medicare, and doing away with certain other components of our social safety net. Are such objectives more important than our economic well-being? I don't think so!

Charles R. Kocher

Ferndale