Bill Bradley

A Dec. 19 editorial characterized Bill Bradley’s plan to provide medical coverage for all those not now insured as “irresponsible,” which raises a significant question about how we as a people should define moral, responsible conduct on the part of political leaders.

There are about 44 million Americans who do not have health insurance. Millions do not receive any sort of medical examination or treatment until their situations becomes so grim that they seek help in emergency rooms. This all too often results in the discovery of conditions that could have been treatable earlier on but instead result in short- or long-term disabilities, permanent disabilities or death.

If 10% of the uninsured go to emergency rooms each year, we have a 4,400,000-visit drain on our emergency care system. If one-tenth of 1% die as a result of late care, not an unreasonable assumption, it means 44,000 deaths annually. To what end? To reduce taxes? To increase corporate profits?

A so-called “responsible” solution, such as Al Gore’s 10-year incremental plan, simply results in too many casualties. The richest country in the world needs to do better than that, and we need to elect a president who has the courage to lead us to that objective.

KENNETH WIKLE

Calabasas

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Bradley decries the role money plays in campaigns. Then he refuses Gore’s offer to halt expensive television ads in favor of twice-weekly debates of substantive issues (Dec. 20). Bradley claims he views his commercials as a way of talking with people “in their living rooms.” That’s laughable. Those 30-second spots are to political dialogue what junk food is to nutrition.

TARJA BLACK

Lancaster