Last Post: Putin, Trump are hardly good ads for presidents

So now we turn the page and set up a republic? Who do we choose as the first president? Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin? My vote goes to Charles III.

Ken Barnes, Glen Iris, Vic

As the pain continues for both sides in Ukraine, we might reflect that an Australian leader who ordered the invasion of a neighbour would be on the backbench by sunset. Winston Churchill summed things up perfectly: democracy is the worst system of government in the world – apart from all the others.

Michael Houldsworth, Townsville, Qld

What did Queen Elizabeth 11 and Don Bradman have in common? Both did come agonisingly close to a century; the Queen by four years and Bradman by four runs. Both also were classic stroke players with a masterly sense of timing and majestic touch.

Kevin Burke, Mooloolaba, Qld

The great Leonard Cohen classic song First We Take Manhattan might have been playing at the Kremlin and Beijing recently. Is it possible that while Vladimir Putin escalates the terror in Ukraine, and the US and Europe commit arms and all their attention there, Xi Jinping takes a leisurely stroll into Taipei?

Don Stallman, Blackbutt, Qld

“No”, Optus.

Iain Rae, Palmwoods, Qld

Tragically for the Russian people, Spooner’s brilliant cartoon (23/9) says it all.

Lindsay Dent, Campbelltown, SA

Gideon Haigh’s “Let’s make it a time to shut up and listen” (23/9) is appropriate. We can but hope that the ABC takes note before producing another documentary.

Graeme Garde, Coolum Beach, Qld

The behaviour of Indigenous protesters on Queen Elizabeth’s memorial day (which included the burning of the Australian flag) will have greatly increased the public’s support for the No vote for constitutional change.

Joanna Hackett, Macleay Island, Qld,

Ron Willis (Last Post, 23/9) thinks the world would be more peaceful if everyone played cricket. The history of India- Pakistan relations shows this might not be true. Rugby, on the other hand …

Shane Hughes, Floreat, WA

Mr Putin would do well to note Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s sage warning: “Woe to the statesman whose arguments for entering a war are not as convincing at the end as they are at the beginning.”

George Fishman, Vaucluse, NSW