President Obama has expressed an overwhelming desire to pass healthcare reform before the August congressional recess, but this artificial deadline limits the ability of the American people to fully give their input on the legislation.  If the plan is as good as they profess, then Members should be able to lay it out for constituents while they are in their districts in August and gain widespread support.  While the public can certainly contact their representative’s offices to comment, there is no comparison to having a series of town hall meetings around the country that give citizens the chance to be seen and heard on this critical issue.  This is certainly a policy area that must be dealt with, but attempting to rush legislation that will have severe ramifications for generations to come is a mistake that Congress should not commit for the sake of meeting an arbitrary deadline.