http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/opinion/pointed-questions-in-a-wild-campaign.html 2016-09-15 22:58:15 Pointed Questions in a Wild Campaign Readers discuss a campaign donation by Donald Trump, the candidates’ plans to help working parents, and political paranoia. === To the Editor: Re “ I read with incredulity that the case against Donald Trump is “at least partly undercut” by your reporters’ discovery that the check he sent to Pam Bondi’s campaign for attorney general of Florida was dated four days before an article was published in The Orlando Sentinel about a possible investigation of Trump University. Common sense requires that you be at least skeptical of this date. Most Americans have at some time in their lives been running on fiscal fumes and have postdated checks as they waited for a paycheck to be deposited. Many of us have also written an earlier date on checks. Mr. Trump is shrewd. If he was participating in a quid pro quo, he might have had reason to predate it. The bottom line: The date on the check is not proof of when it was written. HELEN A. BERGER West Newton, Mass. To the Editor: Re “ Your article about Donald Trump’s proposal to help parents with child care says he “stretched the truth” when he claimed that Hillary Clinton had no plan of her own and “never will,” even though the article notes that she announced just such a plan a year ago that guarantees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for a newborn or a sick relative. How this is “stretching the truth” and not simply telling a lie is a distinction the writers do not delineate. The fact that Mr. Trump has, throughout his campaign, told lie after lie is partly enabled by such journalistic niceties. KARL KLINGBIEL Brooklyn To the Editor: Donald Trump’s policy statement on helping working mothers with child care was as detailed as anyone could want from a presidential candidate. I am sure that Hillary Clinton’s spin machine is threatened by this policy and is working overtime to protect its perceived ownership of “the women’s vote.” Looking toward the debate, I expect Mr. Trump to defeat Mrs. Clinton easily based on his debate skills and her track record. I also expect her spin machine to have an attack ready after her defeat. It can always pull out the “misogynist” wild card whenever it runs out of legitimate criticism of Mr. Trump. SHEP FARGOTSTEIN Memphis To the Editor: In “ For Mr. Edsall to dwell on Mr. Trump’s alleged paranoia, and to ignore Mrs. Clinton’s paranoia, is to wear blinders. NATHAN DODELL Great Neck, N.Y. To the Editor: It is ironic that Republicans such as Newt Gingrich and Rudolph Giuliani are attempting to roil Donald Trump’s supporters by warning that the election will be rigged. It is their party that is at the forefront of efforts to rig the election, as evidenced by its efforts such as gerrymandering, voter ID laws and reducing the number of polling places in order to suppress voting by its political opponents. JOHN CASSON Brooklyn To the Editor: Thanks to Donald Trump’s campaign, I have become more religious. No, it’s not that Mr. Trump espouses the biblical virtues of helping the widow, orphan, stranger and poor. It’s just that I now pray to God every day that Mr. Trump will not be our next president. HERMAN I. MORRIS Plano, Tex.