Benjamin Disraeli said, “It is much easier to be critical than correct.” The Jan. 15 Washington City Paper’s Loose Lips column illustrates Disraeli’s point.

As a faithful reader of Mr. Cummins’ Loose Lips column, I was disappointed to see it employed in this manner by your new writer. His unwarranted ad hominem attack against Sandy McCall is baseless and mean-spirited. What was the point of the column? Having read it several times, I see only one clear point: that your columnist yearned to attack someone in the Williams administration.

It is a shame that Loose Lips could not exhibit the common courtesy of giving the members of the administration a chance before launching juvenile attacks against them or, at the very least, dressing them down only if and when they have done something to merit such ill-mannered treatment.

What your columnist chose to ignore in his superficial smear on Sandy is that Washington is fortunate to have a man of his integrity and character in the mayor’s office. I pray that you will take the earliest opportunity to correct this offense.

Capitol Hill