PRESIDENTIAL FILE

Although I applaud Mark P. Petracca’s letter (March 27) arguing that the contributions of some public administrators have been undervalued--such as Henry Cisneros as HUD secretary (“The Reluctant Warrior,” by Marcelo Rodriguez, Feb. 27)--former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is not a prime example of a capable politician who chose not to seek the office of President. As a naturalized American citizen, Kissinger is constitutionally disqualified to hold the nation’s highest office.

XIMENA V. MARIN

Beverly Hills

Adding to the thoughts of Prof. Petracca: Two Republican Presidents, Warren G. Harding and Herbert Hoover, are never bragged about by those attending GOP conventions. While I, an octogenarian, agree that Harding should never have been nominated, Hoover had the talent and experience to be an outstanding President. Here was this great mining engineer, respected around the world for his business savvy and his management of global relief efforts after World War I and later as an innovative secretary of Commerce--all appointed positions.

If Hoover was an “abysmal” President, it was a lack of experience in elective office that did him in--that and the misfortune to have his term coincide with the start of the Great Depression. If he had been through the ordeal of an election for governor--even if he had lost--he undoubtedly would have been a more understanding leader.

GEORGE O. MORRISON

Monrovia