MELISSA BLOCK, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
And I'm Robert Siegel.
And our political reporting yesterday prompted a lot of e-mail, including this note from Madonna Laws-Lowell(ph) of St. Louis, Missouri. She heard our story on voters in Ohio who helped Hillary Clinton win big there Tuesday night.
BLOCK: Shame on you, she writes, I sat there several long minutes of what can only be described as a love in for Hillary during which you played clips of people celebrating Hillary. Where were the clips of Obama supporters?
SIEGEL: And Dave Shelton(ph) of Denver e-mailed us after hearing our discussion about the complexities of the Texas primary system. He says, if - as Wade Goodwyn reported on Wednesday - that once the Texas caucus totals are counted, the score is likely to be 98 for Obama and 95 for Clinton, that's not a virtual tie as he puts it. That's an Obama win.
BLOCK: Many of you didn't like what you heard during Robert's interview with Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
SIEGEL: If for several more weeks we hear Senator Clinton saying, he's not equipped to be commander in chief, and Senator Obama saying, she must have something to hide in her taxes or she'd released them, is that good for your party?
Mr. HOWARD DEAN (Chairman, Democratic National Committee; Former Governor, Vermont): No, but I don't think that wouldn't do good for the party, but I doubt very much that you're going to hear that. I think you're going to hear that both people are capable of being commander in chief, and you're going to hear that both people are far, frankly, more ethical than Senator McCain who has managed to spend a lot of the taxpayers' money running up a huge deficit, getting himself ferried around of various vacations and so forth at the expense of various lobbyists.
SIEGEL: Well, here's how Susan Craig(ph) of Richmond, Virginia reacted. I was sorry to hear Howard Dean attack John McCain in order to misdirect questions concerning tension in the Democratic Party. His vicious aspersions certainly contrasted with Senator McCain's spoken intentions to run a respectful general campaign.
BLOCK: And Winnie Wolf(ph) of Wallingford, Pennsylvania wrote. I thought I liked Howard Dean until I listened to that interview. While harping about Florida and Michigan not following the letter of the DNC law, he completely missed the spirit of Democracy. Don't the millions of people in Florida and Michigan deserve to have their votes count and their voices heard?
SIEGEL: And Mark Ewing(ph) of Columbus, Ohio told us, I thought the questions were on point and tough. Unfortunately, Mr. Dean seemed nearly unable to contain the impulse to bring out the flamethrower.
BLOCK: Many of you agreed with Jay Dugger(ph) of St. Louis about David Kuo's review of Anne Rice's latest book "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana." Mr. Dugger writes, it struck me as verbose and barely relevant to the question of whether reading the book deserved my time. I do not expect book reviews to convey the reviewer's testimony of faith. I do expect them to tell me about the book.
SIEGEL: We reported yesterday that high fuel prices and the slowing economy were beginning to persuade some Americans to use less gas. Maryanne Young(ph) of Monte Vista, Colorado was not impressed. I find it very disheartening that it takes the high price of gas to get some Americans into the mode of, gee, I'll combine trips and save gas. Disheartening, because, human caused global warming. Dependence on foreign oil, air pollution, et cetera, all are dismissed as reasons to reduce gas consumption. Ah, Americans and the almighty buck. It always speaks the loudest.
BLOCK: Finally, this note from John Bunch(ph) of Sedley, Virginia, about our story on how Spain is claiming the golden silver found in a colonial-era shipwreck. Back them, Mr. Bunch writes, the Spanish plundered South America for its precious metals and enslaved the Indians to dig and process that gold and silver from their own lands. If anyone could legally lay claim to those riches, it should be those South American countries that deserve restitution.
SIEGEL: Well, if you've got a comment on one of our stories, go to npr.org and choose Contact Us from the top of the page. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.