The president has several problems that we voters can help him with on Nov. 7. He can't change course in Iraq without appearing to be a flip-flopper, so here is what we can do to help:

Vote for a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. The new Congress will negotiate with the president to get us out of Iraq under the best conditions.

The president will be able to blame the change of course on the Democrats. We will save blood and treasure, and Osama bin Laden will lose his best recruiting cause. The president and Congress could then focus on terrorism, hunting bin Laden and reversing the problems surfacing in Afghanistan.

It is clear that incompetent civilian leadership in the Department of Defense and in the vice president's office is a major reason for our failures in Iraq. A Democratic congressional majority will give the president coverage to replace the DOD civilian bosses with competent people.

Immigration, worker rights, healthcare, corruption, oil dependency and protection of the environment, to name a few areas that need attention, will be improved by Democratic majorities.

The president can't do anything positive in these areas because he can't defy his corporate sponsors. The Democrats can take the heat for legislation that will benefit most of the citizens, and the big corporations will still support the Republicans because who else can they turn to?

It is obvious that the larger the Democratic House and Senate majority, the more it will help the president.

Now get out there and help the president. Burt Elliott Thousand Oaks