What purpose is served by the ongoing dispute over the activities of our two presidential candidates and their actions- or lack of action- during the Vietnam war? Those events, after all, happened more than 30 years ago- before so many among us even walked the earth, back when Richard Nixon and a vice president named Spiro Agnew ruled the country. It was a time when the "Pepsi generation" was badly divided over the merits of fighting a war in Southeast Asia, a war which would eventually become the first armed conflict America would not win.

So whether George Bush actually ever did serve out his military obligation, or John Kerry acted heroically as a swift boat commander on the Mekong River really are questions best left to the history books. That was then, as the saying goes, and this is now: It is a generation-and-a-half later, and the two candidates are grown men with strikingly different philosophies of how to govern, how to lead this country and do best by the citizens. The national debate should be about who they are today, what they will do tomorrow, and how what they believe will make life better for Americans in need of their country's help.

The fact is there are millions of people in this country who need help from a compassionate, concerned government. For too many, their plight is obscured in the wild-eyed political fractures caused by two campaigns running amok.

A close family friend now living down south, himself a 67 year-old former Bostonian who has lived in the sunshine for these past twenty years, is a good example. Last year, his wife survived breast cancer and a mastectomy. This summer, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and he set about looking for health care. An initial procedure found the cancer had spread. Several treatments were discussed, but the man was concerned about the costs. He said his HMO coverage was limited, and was not sure if he could afford the costs of life-saving cancer care. He chose not to buy a drug to help control his daily nausea because it was too expensive, and his insurance policy left him uncovered.

For two months, through the heat of the summer and the impact of two hurricanes, he tried to manage his pain with a small supply of percocet- the same medication used for toothaches. His choice is to use up his family's small resources, or go without the treatment that can prolong his life.

That this man and thousands of Americans like him are deprived of immediate and effective health care in this country, in this first decade of the new century, is shameful, a national disgrace. But it must be said that it is a common occurrence, not just for him and his family but for scores of Americans. Like him they have worked all their lives, paid all their taxes, and contributed to their community- in short, good, solid working class citizens. But now, they need a break. Some help to meet the exorbitant cost of health care would be a good place to start.

Tragically, it is something that should be talked about and debated by the candidates. The need is urgent, but the resolve of the politicians- both of them, and the two national parties they lead- is lacking.

Today, there are just 47 days left until election day. The American people deserve to hear what these two guys propose to do, both now and in the future. Enough about Vietnam, and what these two men did in their college and post-grad years. Let's hear what they will do for us now.

- Ed Forry