In his Sept. 29 column, David Broder claims that Barack Obama’s “deference” to John McCain in the Sept. 26 debate, his several acknowledgements of agreement with McCain, and his frequent glances at McCain (despite McCain’s refusal to meet his eye) indicated that “Obama seemed to accept McCain as the alpha male.”

How sad that Sen. Obama’s old-fashioned good manners are interpreted as weakness. What an advantage in international diplomacy those manners would be! And surely courtesy is more effective in reconciling differences in Congress than the sort of rude and aggressive behavior Mr. Broder seems to admire in McCain. Forget the jungle vocabulary; I’m voting for civility and Barack Obama.

Victoria Murphy

Seal Harbor