Letter to Obama from "Mad As Hell Doctors"

Paul Hochfeld @ Copmmon Dreams - As one of the Mad As Hell Doctors from Oregon, I had the surprising good fortune of being an uninvited, but welcomed, guest to the President Obama's recent meeting in the Rose Garden with "physicians from around the country." I hand-delivered the following letter to one of President Obama's aides. I wonder. Has he read it?

October 5, 2009

Dear President Obama,

Although I would dearly appreciate being invited to speak with you and the other invited physicians this morning, I understand this is problematic and unlikely. I must, therefore, settle for a letter in which I hope to express a great deal of compassion for the difficulty of your predicament. You are caught between those on the right, some of whom want you to fail and accuse you of going "too far", and those on the left, like myself, who, passionately, want you to succeed and, equally passionately, want a real solution to our health care crisis.

As you may know, in September, the Mad As Hell Doctors from Oregon wended our way to Washington, visiting twenty-six cities in twenty-two days, telling uncomfortable Truths about our health care system, none of which is news to you, but I state clearly for those who might be eavesdropping. Read more.