I feel obligated to respond in kind to Howard T. Goodman about U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney. Goodman would have us believe that McNerney's actions in the House of Representatives reflects the majority of the 11th District. I have found otherwise.

Notwithstanding Goodman's kind words for McNerney, there can be no question that the 11th District has different values than the liberal Democratic areas such as San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley. Furthermore, McNerney has met with and received support from such left wing groups as Code Pink and MoveOn.org. Code Pink is a notorious, extreme left wing group that has engaged in such despicable acts as parading coffins outside of Walter Reed military hospital while calling wounded US soldiers "terrorists."

The liberal Democratic advocacy group "Americans for Democratic Action" gave McNerney a "Liberal Quotient" (the percentage of votes for liberal causes) of 95 percent. That is higher than notoriously liberal House members such as Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters and Lynn Woolsey (and even Ted Kennedy!). McNerney would be a fine Representative for Berkeley but he's out of touch with the 11th District.

It's no secret that McNerney came to office riding a wave of liberal money and influence from outside of the 11th District. He's done an admirable job of paying back that constituency, but he's so far out of step with the typical 11th District resident that even a disappointing candidate like Dean Andal is a better choice than McNerney.