To the editor:

Reading Tapan Bhattacharjee's letter of Oct. 29, I could have sworn that it was a conflation of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, with a sprinkling of Fox News biases thrown in for good measure.

Bhattacharjee is entitled to his opinions, but opinions require attribution if they are to mean anything and his letter was devoid of facts that would support his false assumptions.

For the record, Obama received the Nobel Prize because he has restored relations with nations, is working to eliminate nuclear weapons, is addressing the problem of global warming; and contrary to Bhattacharjee's allegation that Obama has "trashed" America overseas, the truth is he has made America the most admired nation once again after being seventh in world stature under Bush.

Bhattacharjee goes on to say that "terrorists like him more because he appeased Muslims," and Europeans were very pleased because Obama trashed America. In truth, Obama has made gains in foreign policy, a policy left in tatters by the previous administration. Bhattacharjee alleges Obama "doesn't have the intelligence to solve problems following capitalistic principles." If Obama has a single positive attribute, it is intelligence; and Bhattacharjee can take that to the bank.

The unsupported assertions made by Bhattacharjee are manifold: "Obama appeased communist leaders like Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Russia, and all are happy by his appeasement." Further commentary, like saying "Obama does not want America to be superior to other countries;" and that Obama is going to bring peace to the world even at the cost of prosperity, reeks of the weakest false assumptions one can dream up.

Regarding Obama's economic policy, it must be noted that after the crash of 1929, Hoover left America to heal via the capitalist method, and the Depression was prolonged for many years. Ironically, it takes a bit of socialism to restore capitalism, and already, what could have been a major depression has already shown indicators of economic upticking. Worry not, Tapan, we will soon be back to normal, but be advised that unfettered capitalism is tantamount to opening the hen house door for the fox.

Finally, Bhattacharjee should realize that America elected Obama because he would bring sorely needed change, and that is what he is trying to do; and if the rest of the world seems pleased with his actions, is that not a positive?

Dante Ippolito

Norwell