What would you say to a presidential contender if you had the chance?

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 | 2 a.m.

To: Our readers

From: The Sun’s editorial board

Subject: The presidential election

Nevada is seeing a rush of political action this month. Republican presidential candidates debated Tuesday night at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, and there have been or will be important meetings for Democrats and Republicans. To top it off, President Barack Obama is due in town Monday.

There are reasons why national politicians are paying attention to Nevada: The state’s presidential primary is one of the earliest in the nation and the first in the West. The state also has become a bellwether — Nevadans have voted for the winner in 24 of the past 25 presidential elections. Nevada is also a part of what has been called the new heartland of America; voters here provide a good representation of the rest of the country.

We recently noted the complaints of New Hampshire, which has diligently tried to hold on to its importance with its first-in-the-nation primary. New Hampshire officials boast that their state’s voters are engaged, and during the primary season, there is never a shortage of video and pictures of candidates in small diners and mom-and-pop stores talking with people in the Granite State.

You don’t see as much of that in Nevada for many reasons, notably that there aren’t scores of those community gathering places as there might be in a state like New Hampshire. So we figured it’s time to create a gathering place for citizens — on our opinion pages and online.

Yesterday, we outlined some of the issues we think Republicans should address while they’re here. But if you had a chance to talk with them or ask them a question, what would you say? What do you think they should know or understand?

What about the president? What would you ask him or say to him if you met him in person?

We want to know what you would ask or say. You can email your questions to us. You can also write a letter to the editor or comment below. We’ll publish a sampling of questions and comments, and we’ll see if we can get answers to at least some of your questions as well as reaction to your comments.

Before you type: In our editorial Tuesday, we said candidates should drop the rhetoric and discuss the issues, and we think that’s sound advice for everybody. Yes, we know that what one person dismisses as “rhetoric” is embraced as gospel by someone else. So, there’s no need to be snarky or mean in your comments. (Feel free to disagree without being disagreeable.) Name-calling, no matter how creative or impressive it might be, will hurt your cause. Here’s a bit of motherly advice: If someone asked you a similar question, how would you take it?

This isn’t a contest to win by getting in the best put-down or making the brilliantly rude comment that ends the thread. Our goal is to start a conversation and encourage the types of discussion that will help Nevada grow to a better future. We hope you’ll take part. Thanks for reading and for participating.

Now, start typing.