Reporter's Note: You might think President Barack Obama would be getting more advice than a rookie driver on a Boston rotary, but he has asked for the help of his citizens on that front, and I’m putting the proverbial pedal to the metal with a letter a day to the Commander in Chief’s office.

Tom Foreman | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Dear Mr. President,

OK, I’ve held it in as long as I can. I didn’t want to upset your hundred-versary or distract you from your big news conference, but now I’ve got to speak up about this pig flu business. I’m just not worried about it much. I’m sure you and Joe Biden spent half the night jawing at each other over what he said about the dangers of sneezy seatmates on airplanes, and I realize you have to play it safe with the general public.

But I’ve been reading an awful lot, talking with epidemiologists (fun? oh yeah!), and it just doesn’t look like that big of a deal, even though it could obviously become a bigger deal down the line. So here’s my advice: Don’t scare us unless you really must.

I’m not accusing you of anything I’m just saying I’ve grown tired over too many public officials, too many times, saying the sky is falling. We hear all these breathless warnings every time a hurricane starts swirling, a disease bubbles up, the stock market dips, or a tainted cookie appears in Iowa. A friend at the office calls it “the panic de jour.”

Granted, all these issues are serious, but if every single one produces yet another round of screaming in the streets, like an old Godzilla movie or a shoe shopping trip by Rosie O’Donnell, eventually everyone will just close their windows and start ignoring the warnings. I’m not letting my own team off the hook. We media types do plenty to whip up fear when we really should not, and when we get together with politicians who want some headline it’s hot times at the old hysteria corral.

Maybe it’s because I’m generally healthy, or maybe I’ll fall victim to the evil Franken-swine tomorrow and become the ironic butt of a thousand health department jokes. Maybe. But probably not. And this could be a little backwash from the Bush years and all that Homeland Security Red-Yellow-Orange level business, but I’m asking for some help here.

Inform me. Don’t alarm me. We’ll both sleep easier. Call if you can. I’m pretty much over my cold, btw. But I do have an odd yearning for truffles…ha!

Regards,

Tom

Find more of the Foreman Letters here.