Dear Jane Smiley,

I understand why you are disappointed with President Obama.

First, the New York Times reported that he had made a "deal" with drug-makers. Then, the second blow: the news that the president was "back-tracking" on the public insurance option that in the past, he had...

Recently, a somewhat starry-eyed op-ed in the New York Times suggested that a $100 billion annual investment in universal healthcare is just the medicine that our economy needs. The goal, declared Jonathan Gruber, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: "covering every American."

It is an...

Forces calling for Healthcare Reform Now are gaining momentum. I share their sense of urgency -- assuming that they are talking about the "reforms" needed to create an effective, affordable, patient-centered health care system. But if by "reform," they simply mean "universal coverage," I have to disagree.

Granted, giving...