Bob Anderson’s response (Aug. 3) to my letter of July 24 suggesting we view President Obama in a balanced way illustrates my point. Mr. Anderson highlights only negatives and, while accurate about some issues, tells deceptive half truths about others. Some examples of accuracy are:

• The administration did attempt to cover up the Benghazi facts and secretly provided weapons to Mexican criminals. Describing these and other scandals as an endless list of distractions hardly helped their image.

• Even though it may effectively accomplish its goals, I agree with Anderson that ongoing NSA spying is deplorable. This along with other national security excesses lead me to join Anderson in believing that we have already given up many of the individual freedoms we were once famous for defending.

Half truths in Anderson’s letter include:

• While there has been an increase in Food Stamp use this is largely beyond executive control and in view of vast underemployment, may be a good thing.

• Our national debt is growing but this has been true under most administrations from both parties. However, both experts and citizens disagree about causes, whether it has in fact grown beyond what we can afford and whether reducing it at this time would help or hurt most Americans.

• Detroit was on the road to bankruptcy decades before the bailout, which was as much Republican as Democrat and has turned out rather well, with the public actually making a little money on it.

• Given that little of Obamacare sea change has yet taken effect, perhaps we ought to wait and see how it works over the next 10 years before presumptively declaring its successes and failures.

I’m no blind Obama follower, but I’m not a blind Obama hater either. He has done things I despise, things I appreciate, things I’m skeptical about and things I reserve judgment on. Bob Anderson, on the other hand, appears to typify blind condemnation of anything our first African-American president does. This is an unpatriotic and counter-productive attitude that reflects badly on all Americans.

Ron Kokish

Carbondale