Dear Editor:
In this morning’s edition, you feature a letter from Cliff Johns of Louisville, Kentucky, in which Barack Obama is referred to not by name, but only as “The One.”
The intended derision may not be immediately apparent to those who do not regularly listen to talk radio, but this is a disrespectful term derived from Rush Limbaugh and his cohorts, meant to imply that Obama is a delusional figure who sees himself, literally, as the Messiah.
I assume you would not print a letter which referred to Senator McCain as “Old Cancer Face,” but this is effectively what you have allowed Mr. Johns to do in reference to Senator Obama, and you probably owe your readers an apology.
Sincerely,
Tom Tomorrow
(Send a letter to the editor by e-mailing letters@nytimes.com).