"Mr. Brooks is right. The Democrats should proudly rejoice after their success in passing the health care reform bill. Congratulations to President Obama and his team for standing by what they believed to be right and necessary.

The Republicans, on the other hand, should hang their heads in shame that they could not muster enough common sense to contribute to the most important piece of social legislation of this generation.

It is incredible that national health care reform has taken so long and been fought so bitterly. When the health care reform bill finally passed, I was reminded of a comment attributed to Winston Churchill: "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they've exhausted all the alternatives."

So Mr. Brooks may admire the energy of the people and the vibrancy of the marketplace. Good for him; I do, too. But people are even more energetic and the market they create is even more vibrant when they are in good health. Like other nations, we should recognize that health care is an investment in people, not in a market.

Bill O'Reilly" (NYT Letter)