Unleash America's assets

When our nation was paralyzed by the Great Depression, the federal government launched and managed massive programs to bring relief. After Pearl Harbor, our federal government mobilized industry to make America the great arsenal of democracy, with miracles of production becoming the norm overnight. When we were threatened by a Soviet dominance in space, our federal government mobilized the scientific community and created NASA which met the threat with dazzling scientific achievement.

During these national emergencies, our presidents took the lead, working with the states, and husbanding America's vast resources to overcome great challenges while reassuring and comforting our citizens.

But like Herbert Hoover at the beginning of the Great Depression, the current president has failed to recognize the severity of the current situation or leverage the power of the federal government to squarely address it.

Rather than mobilizing the enormous potential of Americans, he has chosen to vacillate between claiming clearly unconstitutional absolute power, while demanding that states handle the crisis. Rather than calming and comforting our citizens, he confuses and frustrates them by engaging in bizarre daily press appearances seemingly aimed more toward advancing a political agenda, bashing the media, and promoting himself than eradicating a deadly adversary.

This president lacks both the ingenious organizational skills and the ability to inspire and unify that some of his predecessors possessed. He needs to appoint those who have such skills to manage this crisis and unleash America's vast scientific, medical and industrial assets immediately.

MARY MEYER, Jackson