Listening to Eric Cantor, R-Va., talk to Katie Couric, I was seriously afraid. He expressed to her his feeling that the majority of Americans want the health care bill repealed. Couric interjected that exit polls showed that 47 percent of voters agreed with the health care bill while 47 percent wanted a repeal of the health care legislation — basically a 50/50 Republican-Democrat split.

Cantor then proceeded to note that 87 percent of Republicans and about 50 percent of Independents are against the health care bill and this “majority” has given him the mandate to kill that legislation.

Now, I’m just an engineer, not a mathematician, but I don’t think that completely discounting Democrats in your political math makes any sense.

Mr. Cantor, are you saying that I’m a worthless nobody in your “minority” because I support the health care reform and generally vote with the Democrats? Maybe you just think I’m anti-American for supporting “Obamacare” and that’s why I don’t count as part of your math.

I hope that in coming years this political black vs. white extremism will fade into distant memory. Why can’t these politicians concede to work in shades of gray for the better good?

I felt a little better after a few more people noted to Couric that it will be extremely hard for a group of Republicans who have gained seats in Congress to stop the progress of the health care legislation, as any measure they support can be vetoed by President Obama and they don’t have enough votes to overrule his decision. This country needs health care reform, and the normal Republican party line, spewed again by Cantor about simply decreasing the cost of health care, simply will not work unless more people have health care insurance.

It’s simple economics that if you want to drop costs, you get more people insured and you provide more regulation of this industry that never gives the consumer much of a say about how much they want to pay for a given operation or hospital stay. We’ll see how it works out, but I’m hoping for the best, for all Americans’ sake.