An Open Letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

I am very disappointed in you. You claimed during the campaign that you would be a post-partisan President and you would end the partisan bickering in Washington. You also claim lately that your most important concern in the health insurance reform process is increased competition and lowered costs in addition to covering the "47 million" uninsured Americans (it is a misleading number of course because you include people who could afford insurance but do not want it, as well as undocumented immigrants).

However, your actions lately show that both of these assertions are untrue. Republicans and conservatives have offered many reforms that would increase coverage, increase competition and reduce costs. If these are truly your goals, and you really are post-partisan, you would embrace some of these changes.

For example, Republicans want to allow people to buy insurance across state lines. This would increase competition and probably allow more people to be covered. There is no downside. But you will not even consider such a proposal.

Further, Republicans have suggested tax subsidies for individuals and small businesses that equal what corporations get to provide health insurance to their employees. This will also lead to more coverage. Again, there is no downside.

For some reason, you will not consider these options.

Instead, you seek something that requires much more government interference and may even lead to a complete government take over of the health insurance system.

You claim not to be in favor of such a thing, though you previously stated that you were. So which is? Are you concerned with costs and coverage, or are you far more interested in a single-payer system? I have a feeling it is the latter. The scary thing is that you are trying to enact reform that will lead to a single-payer system while claiming you are not doing that.

So why not just be honest about it?

I cannot think of a single campaign promise that you have actually kept - tax cuts for 95% of Americans? Nope. End the war in Iraq? Nope. Transparency in the White House? Nope. Lobbyists not finding a job in your administration? Nope. Post-racial Presidency? Nope. Post-partisan Presidency? Nope.

Since you have failed to do all of these things that you promised, can you please just do something right and be honest about your intentions? I think you owe this country at least that much.

I still have hope that you will change the tenure of your presidency, but that hope is very quickly fading.