Editor’s note: This letter is in response to “Enough with cleverness — give me smarts”, published Oct. 7, 2020.

I am not a paid writer as Mr. Elfers and it has taken several days for me to decide whether I wanted to respond to the subject article. When I read his article I had two reactions; an increase in blood pressure and I laughed at the insanity or irony of it.

I don’t question that President Trump is clever; his pet names for people, his being nominated multiple times for Nobel prizes, his ideas and guidance in creating the best economy in the history of the country and his obtaining tens or hundreds of millions of free press and media coverage all confirm his cleverness and, I say, smarts.

Joe Biden has 47 years of insignificant and non-notable “experience”. He has no major accomplishments that even he claims. He has, like many government employees, put in his time and kept his head down so as to not be too noticeable and survived for 47 years. For me that means he has earned his pension but it hardly proves smarts. A lot of people have years of experience in one, or two vocational areas, but that does not make them managers, leaders, clever or even qualified to run the company, or in his case, the United States government.

Joe Biden is not only inarticulate he is a liar and a plagiarizer (a thief of other people’s words and ideas) – Joe was caught claiming the work of others while he was in college, again during his 1987 campaign, and in 2008 when he claimed a published Time’s magazine article as his own ideas. If he’s so smart why does he feel the need to steal the words and ideas of others – instead of using his own ? He even lied about his college grades and his class standing. Of late, he can’t remember where he is or even the office for which he is running.

I don’t know about Elfers but I hardly see Biden with his 47 years of deceit, lies and actions, as either clever or smart.

Harold Borland

Bonney Lake