I have heard lots of noise about President Barack Obama’s pledge to have the health care bill debated in the open and on C-Span. But presidents have no control over how Congress does business. Even George Washington found out that the president has no control over Congress, other than the checks and balances outlined in the Constitution.

I have again heard that Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh tell the truth. PT Barnum once said that a sucker is born every minute. Boy, was he right. Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh certainly sound convincing, until and unless their pronouncements are analyzed. Their words shrivel in the light of knowledge and in a search for the truth. None of those guys are journalists and, therefore, are under no restrictions to tell the truth or to report the truth.

Right-wingers talk about impeachment and censure. Where were these liberty-loving, Constitution-adhering folks when George W. Bush and Dick Cheney committed treason in the outing of a CIA operative, or trampling all over the public’s constitutional rights?

There have been four recent Republican presidents: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, all of whom committed crimes that would rate a call for impeachment. Ever since the crimes of those presidents were investigated, Republicans have been trying to “get even.”

They should quit trying to get even, stop being obstructionists and help run the country.

Judson R. Duncan, Monmouth