Demagogue

A few days ago, the Washington Post published this letter-to-the-editor by a top official at AARP:

Steven Pearlstein's candid assessment of the political climate in his Jan. 24 column was refreshing. He's right. Enough of the partisanship: It's time to embrace the opportunity to start a serious debate on health-care reform.

While President Bush's proposal to cover what may be as many as 48 million uninsured leaves many questions unanswered, it is one idea among many that can help us move toward meaningful solutions.

No suggestion is above constructive criticism, but we will never solve our nation's pressing health and long-term financial security problems if we don't start looking beyond partisanship and begin to collectively debate new ideas. Working together, we can accomplish so much. Divided, we will fail.

Mark Kitchens
Director of Media Relations and Strategy
AARP

That's one eloquent dude. But I think he left out some equally eloquent one-liners. He could have added:

• Reaching out, we will build bridges.
• United, we will succeed.
• Handcuffed to a coffee table, we won't be able to make another martini.

After reading a banal letter like this one, any senior who belongs to AARP should be asking why the largest, most powerful advocacy organization for seniors has nothing more provocative to say than merely urging the nation's leaders to "start a serious debate on health-care reform."

This debate has been going on for many years. If it hasn't yet reached the "serious" stage, it's because AARP is more interested in lining its pockets than it is in actually representing the millions of American retirees.