Letters to the Editor: Readers sound off on coverage of Biden’s health and where the focus should be

To the editor: Columnist Jonah Goldberg discusses President Biden’s health without any licensed medical expertise. He only has a political viewpoint to promote (“History alone should have made more reporters skeptical about Biden’s health,” May 20).

Conversely, that same day The Times published a very good explanation of Biden’s illness and treatment options, which quotes reputable medical experts (“6 doctors on Biden’s cancer diagnosis, how it may have arisen and his treatment options,” May 20). One of those is Dr. Sunil Patel, a urologic oncologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After a thorough explanation of Biden’s condition, he says, “I don’t think anyone can blame anyone in terms of was this caught too late or anything like that. This happens not too infrequently.” The rest of the article supports that analysis.

Peggy Jo Abraham, Santa Monica

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To the editor: Yes, we should be paying closer attention to the health of our aging representatives. Clearly, Biden’s health was failing, as his performance in the debate showed.

But, more to the point, we need strictly enforced term limits for all people who are elected to office. The founding fathers never meant for elective office to be a lifetime occupation. You were supposed to “serve your country” and then return to private life, whatever that might be. Now, senators and representatives seemingly do whatever they have to in order to remain in office.

To implement and maintain term limits would require the people affected by the legislation to actually vote for something that could take away their lofted positions. Regrettably, this would be unlikely to ever happen.

Aging has no reliable timetable. I speak from experience about that. But all people in charge of serving the citizens of our country should be concerned with the future of our nation, not the future of their livelihood. Term limits would be a major step in the right direction.

Peter Marquard, Northridge

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To the editor: Having read a series of articles in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere on the deliberate underplaying or actual hiding of presidents’ illnesses, including such presidents as Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, I’ve heard much less about Ronald Reagan’s mental decline in his last years (“It’s not just Biden. There’s a history of presidential health cover-ups,” May 21). The Teflon seems to still be working.

The reflections on presidential health conditions seem to me to be primarily focused on Democratic presidents. Possibly just a coincidence? It seems a lot of the coverage is too little, too late and somewhat a financial boon to Jake Tapper’s book. A pity that our current president has historically been less transparent about his own health.

George Corey, Pasadena