In Joseph Ramagli's analysis of "top contenders" for the White House in the upcoming election ("Columnist dissects top contenders in 2008 presidential race," April 4), he blatantly ignored one of them, John Edwards. Not only has this candidate come out strong in the polls (in fact, marginally leading Barack Obama in the key state of New Hampshire), but he has gone above and beyond other candidates by realistically addressing this nation's most pressing issues.

For instance, he's the only Democrat who's willing to state definitively that taxes will need to be raised to back greater government-sponsored healthcare coverage.

It's unfortunate that Mr. Ramagli chose to cherry pick which candidates got coverage; after all, what America needs and deserves in these times of uncertainty is a man with enough pluck to value honesty over mass appeal. The only candidate who stands out in that regard is Mr. Edwards.