Letters to the Editor

The following are letters to the editor that appeared in the Sept. 23 print edition of The Peninsula Gateway. To submit a letter, e-mail gatewayeditor@gateline.com. Please keep letters submissions to 250 words.

No change, but I hope we can move forward

My views on the president have not changed. Obama is as level-headed, eloquent, rational and charismatic now as he was in January.

His speech to Congress on health care reform was clear and tough, but it also extended an olive branch to republicans, one of whom repaid his civility with an uncivil jeer. (No one has ever shown this kind of discourtesy before during a presidential address. Such is the level of discourse now, even in the Congress.)

What has changed is simply the passage of time and the patience of the American people; we want instant fixes — even to complex problems.

Obama has been called upon to solve huge, festering problems that aren’t quickly or easily solved. An economy battered by years of poor decisions can’t be turned around on a dime, even assuming economists agreed on where and how to turn it — which they apparently don’t.

As Obama pointed out, health care reform has been on presidential agendas for 100 years.

He has made some blunders, but I don’t expect perfection in the messy business of governing a democracy.

I do hope for steps forward, however. His speech earlier this month should make some of those steps possible.

Eleanor Klauminzer, Gig Harbor

Letter writer: ‘I fear for the future of America’

I had concerns about the Marxist views sometimes evident with candidate Obama, but I had faith that Congress could temper the extremes.

Actually, 90 percent of what Bush got blamed for began in the hallowed halls of Congress. He lacked the courage to wield the veto pen.

I majored in economics and history, including United States, Russian and European history, and those studies left me with a dim view of socialist theories.

Recent actions of Congress and Obama have caused me to move from concerned to angry with the outrageous behavior of both. I believe it was Pogo who said, “We have seen the enemy, and it is us.”

I fear for the future of America.

Ken Thompson, Olalla

President Obama has made me proud to be an American

President Obama is the voice this country needs to succeed in the 21st century. Status quo is no longer an option for the United States, as other countries are further exceeding us in so many fields anymore. We need a wake-up call in this country.

Yes, we’re in a deep recession, and we’re slowly trying to pull out of it. Most of us have been impacted by it and will have to make permanent changes in the way we all do things. Probably, that’s for the better, and we can be thankful for what we do have, and strive for better choices in the future.

However, the paralyzing paranoia and bigotry poisoning so many minds in our country is part of the problem, and it has no place for our future as a great country.

Sadly, those people will never change.

President Obama is human. He will make mistakes. Who doesn’t? But, in the long run, he wants to make this a better country for his daughters, and for everyone who lives here.

At least he’s trying to get our country back on track again. He’s a proud American, and he, for one, has made me proud to be an Amercian.

Kim Patterson, Gig Harbor