Editor:

Relative to recent letters regarding the notion of not criticizing a person because the office (i.e. the president of the United States) is held in high esteem, I would like to weigh in on the side of the notion that actions determine the criteria upon which to make the decision. Thus criticism is necessary for both a true evaluation and to protect the freedom of the press.

Former President Andrew Jackson was criticize  –  and rightly so – for his persecution of Native Americans. President Lyndon Johnson was criticized for his fabrication of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, bringing us into the Vietnam War. President Nixon was criticized for bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War (which the Vietnamese call “The American War”).

The notion that the current president should not be criticized for fabricating a false rationale for taking the country into war or for condoning widespread torture as outlined in the current best-selling book “The Dark Side,” by Jane Mayer is invalid.

Not only is it wrong to withhold criticism, in a democracy it is both a moral obligation and a necessary function of the press.

John Vinagro

Kennebunkport