Letters of the Day: On Obama's speech

Obama's successes

EDITOR: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus was quoted in Wednesday's paper reacting to the State of the Union speech: "We heard the same old promises . . . But after five years of promises, what do we have to show for it?"

The New Yorker reported on Jan. 27 that "the Dow is more than twice what it was when Obama took office and corporate profits are higher than they have been since the end of the second World War."

Add to that health care reform, saving the economy, passing Wall Street reform, turning around the U.S. auto industry, repealing "Don't ask, don't tell," reversing Bush administration torture policies, boosting fuel-efficiency standards, increasing support for veterans and a host of other economic and environmental initiatives.

All of this was done in the face of unprecedented opposition from the Republican Party, whose sole accomplishment recently has been the shutdown of the U.S. government, which cost our economy about $24 billion.

LIZ REYNA

Rohnert Park