We are grateful for the strong community interest and attendance at Tuesday's "Community Meeting on Health Care" with Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Seacoast Media Group, the parent company of the Herald, was proud to host an event that added to the breadth and depth of citizen involvement during this most unique of presidential primary seasons.

We were impressed by the passion with which stories were shared and the quality of inquiries directed at Obama.

He did not come armed with a detailed plan, and left knowing that voters aren't asking for — but demanding — smart policies and political commitment to deal with an issue that affects the lives of all Americans.

Though a minority of dissenters remain, few doubt there is a genuine, ongoing health care crisis in the country. Any so-called system that leaves 45 million Americans uninsured and creates untold anxiety and financial peril for those with insurance is at best dysfunctional.

The road to health care reform likely will prove as long and complicated as the stories told by Seacoast region residents at the meeting. There are no easy solutions for situations like those of the Rev. Arthur Hilson of Portsmouth, who told Obama that his own personal health crisis made him realize that, if he didn't have insurance, he would have been left with the choice of dying or paying for the education of his children.

Obama's fact-gathering approach did not please many in attendance, but it was important to bring perspective and constructive, if sometimes frustrating, dialogue to a fluid social, political, economic and moral dilemma.

For us, this was but the first of what we hope will be more presidential primary meetings at Seacoast Media Group that focus on a single topic — such as the war in Iraq, global warming, the economy, crime, immigration, foreign policy, terrorism or education — and encourage a wide range of discussion and debate between major party candidates and bipartisan gatherings of local voters. A number of other candidates have expressed strong interest in sharing their views and hearing those of our community.

— Portsmouth Herald