Override of Highway Bill

Columnist George F. Will is truly a modern phenomenon. Rarely have I seen anyone use more words to say less!

Will pompously berates Congress (Editorial Pages, April 3) for overriding President Reagan’s ill-advised vetoes of two bills that are vital to our economy and ecology. The fact that both the water and highway bills enjoyed bipartisan support in both houses of Congress is testament not to congressional stubbornness; those bills are obviously essential to the well-being of the nation.

I would’ve thought that even a right-wing die-hard like Will could have seen the folly of Reagan setting up contrived confrontations like this, which were destined to be Waterloos for him! Whoever advised Reagan to scribble vetoes like this that so blatantly fly in the face of public sentiment ought to have his head examined.

The problem with Will is that he can’t see the facts for the numbers. Not one word in his entire diatribe refers to the sorry state of tap water in this country, or to the fact that our nation’s highways are in sore need of repair. It’s all presented as some kind of loyalty contest, especially for Republicans: “Do you love Ronnie or don’t you?” This was Minority Leader Bob Dole’s last-ditch plea to the Senate; it is childish and irrelevant.

Even more inane is Will’s feeble attempt to relate the highway bill to the rise in the prime lending rate. Come on, Georgie, even YOU can do better than that.

JOANNE G. MURPHY

Los Angeles