What makes a good leader? I look for someone who stands by her convictions and displays good judgment at all times.

During the primary season Kelly Ayotte was not a Trump supporter. After the primaries she looked at the polls in New Hampshire which showed support for Trump among Republicans but had an overall unfavorable rating of 61 percent. She made a political decision to court Republican voters by saying she was going to vote for him while trying for independent and Democratic voters by not endorsing him.

The intervening months has shown a growing discrepancy between her public positions and her private convictions. She was one of the first Republicans to repudiate Trump when he attacked a Muslim Gold Star family. While maintaining her support of Trump, she issued carefully worded denunciations of comments she thought offensive such as Trump’s attack on a judge of Mexican heritage and his attack on John McCain’s war record.

So what changed? Trump was caught making totally reprehensible comments about his treatment of women. Ayotte’s political calculus changed where she had to pull her support from Trump. Didn’t she know about his misogyny, his racism and his temperament from the start? Did she think that we wouldn’t notice that her tightrope act was just a cynical attempt to be seen as an independent?

Kelly Ayotte has shown herself to be a consummate politician with no backbone. As Gov. Hassan said, Ayotte has "failed the test of courage, character and judgment." We need strong, principled leadership in the Senate. Kelly Ayotte has shown herself to be just another politician. New Hampshire deserves better.

Steven Goldstein

Nashua

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