To the Editor:

Re “Senate Leader Seeks to Avoid Vote Challenge” (front page, Dec. 16):

For the sake of this nation and its great experiment in democracy, I am elated by Tuesday’s acknowledgment by Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, of Joe Biden’s legitimate win and his status as our president-elect.

Yet Americans must not be fooled by what just happened. The senator from Kentucky acted in complete and utter self-interest.

Had Donald Trump succeeded in delegitimizing the presidential election or in simply maintaining his sham with active or tacit congressional support, our entire democracy and its foundational system of elections by the people would be forever called into question, including the status going forward of every newly elected or re-elected senator and representative.

Do not misunderstand where Mitch McConnell’s loyalty ultimately lies. It is to power itself and his own and his party’s hold on it.

Marian Cohn
New York

Biden’s Inauguration: Keep It Simple

To the Editor:

On Jan. 20, 1945, Franklin Roosevelt “dispensed with the traditional ceremony on the Capitol steps, as well as the marching bands, fancy floats and hundreds of thousands of guests” and took the oath of office at the White House to start his fourth term, Doris Kearns Goodwin writes in her book “No Ordinary Time.” The war was far from won. It was a time of crisis.

Joe Biden, assuming the presidency amid another crisis, should do likewise. America does not need another mass gathering, another superspreader event. Let Mr. Biden take office quietly with the nation his witness via television. A quiet inauguration will be a signal of a new era, a meaningful start to a united effort to combat the coronavirus and revive the economy it has shattered.

Donald Trump need not attend.

Mike Feinsilber
Washington

To the Editor:

Unfortunately, when the inauguration takes place, Covid-19 will still be with us. I suggest that President-elect Joe Biden start bragging about the smallest Inauguration Day crowd ever.

Ira Cure
Brooklyn

My CDs Tell a Life Story

To the Editor:

“My CDs Aren’t Going Anywhere,” by Anthony Tommasini (Critic’s Notebook, Dec. 10), reminded me of how meaningful collecting CDs has been to me. I always seem to remember when and why I bought every CD I own and exactly where they live on my shelves. They are deeply personal time-markers and carry stories that transcend the music itself.

I have some signed by my favorite artists. There are CDs I bought for my birthday or to listen to at Christmastime. Others I bought because I was learning a piece of music and needed a good reference or just because the music seemed interesting.

I hope that CDs never disappear. They conjure old memories and the expectation of new ones. I will keep buying them at every opportunity.

Jose Luis Hernandez
Tulsa, Okla.