Obama has four years to prove himself

I had always hoped that the first African-American president would be Gen. Colin Powell. He would have brought a lot of experience to the table — almost 40 years of decorated military service. He was Ronald Reagan’s national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush and served under George W. Bush as secretary of state.

America has elected Barack Obama to be its next president. I do not see what he brings to the table besides charisma and the ability to give an eloquent speech. He has no military experience. He doesn’t have any foreign policy experience. His relatively short time in the U.S. Senate hasn’t been very noteworthy. He seems to get by on his personality alone. Unfortunately, in these times, that will not be enough.

It is my hope that he fills his cabinet with experienced statesmen from both sides of the aisle and openly accepts the knowledge they will bring to the table. He has four years to prove himself to the rest of us who do not see what others see in him. I see him as a novelty and the product of a bandwagon campaign.

America has elected its first African-American president. That is significant. Now let’s see if he can stand up to the job. Anyone at this point could do a better job than the current administration. Personally, I am hopeful that I am wrong in my doubts in Obama’s abilities, but being from Missouri, I will use the all-too-often-used phrase “Show Me.”

Robert L. Miller

St. Joseph

A healthy discourse

Many years ago my neighbor was disabled in an automobile accident. He did not have any health insurance. He incurred substantial hospital and doctor bills that he was unable to pay.

He made arrangements with most everyone to pay a small portion of the bill with what little insurance proceeds he received. The only creditor to sue him was Heartland. They sued his wife as well, claiming she had signed his admission forms. This put their joint assets (their home) at risk. Today out of their Social Security, they pay Heartland $100 a month and most likely will for the rest of their lives.

By the time you read this letter, the 28th District House race will have been decided. For purposes of this letter, who will take office is not important. However, if acted upon, the issues raised by Dr. Rob Schaaf could make St. Joseph the winner.

During the campaign the following issues came to light: The compensation paid to Heartland’s management appears to be excessive; St. Joseph’s hospital costs are among the highest in the nation; and Heartland is a charitable corporation. These three elements seem to be a paradox. How is it that a community charitable hospital could pay such high compensation to its management and yet have such high patient costs?

Let’s go back to my neighbor and his wife. He was low-income by most any standards, and the only major asset he and his wife owned was their small house. Yet Heartland, to collect a bill, threatened to take their home.

This is not an isolated incident. If you were to examine the court records of Buchanan County, you would find that many hundreds, if not thousands, of people have been sued by Northwest Financial Services or another subsidiary of Heartland. These aggressive tactics to collect inflated hospital bills appear to have been going on for years.

When the issue was raised about the compensation paid to Heartland’s management, Mark Sheehan was quoted in the News-Press as stating, “This is not a healthy discourse.” I have to respectfully disagree. This discourse brought to the forefront a major issue that this community needs to deal with.

Delton Davis

IT manager, MoDocs

St. Joseph