PRIVATE MATTER

Thursday's "Reader Views" included a letter from Adrian Johansson in which
Jeb Bush's wish not to talk at length about his daughter's latest drug
problems is questioned.

The letter writer feels that the governor talks about the problem when it
might "garner votes" and doesn't talk about it when it would be a news
story on the day of Florida's primary elections.

It seems to me that willingness to speak out at a drug conference,
especially when Noelle seemed to be recovering, is a lot different than
being asked to bare your soul when she apparently has succumbed to her
problem once again. What could any parent say? What would Bush's political
foes have him do, disown her?

Surely we can feel compassion for the Bush family. Noelle's problems are a
private matter and shouldn't be hurled at her father's head because he is a
public figure.

Sallie L. Bowan, Orlando