Letter to the NYTimes

To the Editor:

The juxtaposition of the actions of the leader of the Democratic Party, President Obama, and those of the Republican Sarah Palin says it all.

On the one hand, there is the thoughtful Op-Ed of our president (“Why We Need Health Care Reform,” Aug. 16) written in an attempt to reason with the American people, many of whom have reacted irrationally, without a clue as to what kind of health care reform legislation Congress is actually considering. On the Palin side, there is a Facebook page in which she fabricates and then rants about death panels.

Frankly, I am amazed that we somehow managed to vote in an intelligent, hard-working, enthusiastic person who, despite the despicable way that he has been treated lately and despite the idiocy of the debates at the town hall meetings, remains optimistic that the American people — even Republicans — will eventually support something that is so obviously needed in this country, that is, health care reform.

Ellyn S. Roth