New York Post

O letter admits ‘toxic’ mood

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PRESIDENT Obama admits in a handwritte­n letter to a Texas schoolteac­her that ObamaCare is not the “smart political thing” and that he is bogged down by a “toxic political environmen­t.”

Thomas J. Ritter wrote to the president expressing his dismay over the Affordable Health Care Act, and was surprised to get a response penned by Obama on official White House stationery.

Ritter, a fifthgrade teacher at Sally B. Elliott Elementary in Irving, Texas, had written to the president: “This bill has caused such a divisive, derisive and toxic environmen­t . . . The reality is that any citizen that disagrees with your administra­tion is targeted and ridiculed.”

Ritter continued: “I hesitated to write for fear of some kind of retributio­n . . . I watched you make fun of tea baggers and your press secretary make fun of Ms. [Sarah] Palin which was especially beneath the dignity of the White House . . . Do the right thing not the political thing. Suggest a bill that Americans can support.”

Obama responded: “I . . . appreciate your concern about the toxic political environmen­t right now. I do have to challenge you, though, on the notion that any citizen that disagrees with me has been ‘targeted and ridiculed’ or that I have ‘made fun’ of tea baggers . . . [I] defend strongly the right of everyone to speak their mind — including those who call me ‘socialist’ or worse.

“I believe that health care reform will be the right thing for the country . . . It certainly wasn’t the smart ‘political’ thing! And I hope that in the months to come, you will keep an open mind and evaluate it based not on the political attacks but on what it does or doesn’t do to improve people’s lives. Sincerely, Barack Obama.”

Ritter, 49, is putting the letter up for auction through the Web site momentsint­ime.com for a reserve price of $24,000. Ritter said, “I am selling the letter because I am just so disappoint­ed, and this ObamaCare bill is wrong. The president told me what he thought I wanted to hear. The letter is just words on a paper. It doesn’t mean anything to me because Obama doesn’t mean any of it.”

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