Dear Editor: It saddens me to see the Covington News perpetuating the contrived and manipulative notion of "Obamacare" (Linda Chavez, Aug. 30.)

President Obama has regrettably not put forward any specific plan for health care reform. The only plans under discussion have been produced by committees of the House and Senate. The only real principle Mr. Obama has advocated is that coverage should be universal. He did not even consider the single-payor option as viable, which it is not, and he has waffled on his commitment to the establishment of a public option to stimulate real, as opposed to feigned, competition in the private sector.

Many Newton County residents are working two or more low-wage part-time jobs to make ends meet, none of which provide health care benefits. I challenge Ms. Chavez or anyone else publicly opposed to the principle of universal health care to specify which of our Newton County neighbors should be left out and to explain how our community or society is better off as a result.

The fact is that people without access to affordable health care are more likely to suffer from communicable diseases and transmit them to insured people and their children. Swine flu, anyone? If people don’t have it in their heart to support universal health coverage for the benefit of others, they should at least have it in their head to support it out of self-interest.

Chris Jueschke

Covington