[ whitehouse.gov ] Inside the White House: Letters to the President

Run time: 05:55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG00mM8QEGk   Posted on YouTube: August 02, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: August 03, 2009 By DU Member: MrObama Views on DU: 1142

 
Every day, President Obama reads ten letters from the public in order to stay in tune with America's issues and concerns. "Letters to the President" is an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the process of how those ten letters make it to the President's desk from among the tens of thousands of letters, faxes, and e-mails that flood the White House each day.

http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse

I really need to. There's too much for them to deal with already.

attention to the needs of ordinary Americans.

I'm not a Pollyanna when it comes to Obama, but clearly this man is trying to lead with both his mind and his heart. Based on some of the statements on this board, I imagine that a lot of DUers wish we were back under Bush.

person in the oval office. That seems the most impressive thing of all. Sure Bill Clinton had a poor background but had built up a comfort level by the time of being president. Barack doesn't have too distant memories of strugging with money so it's all very real to him. There's just a strong sense that he is another President who feels the peoples pain. I think that's the theme he has to run on in 2012 of being a real person, as that is his strongest attribute.

Too late to rec, but here's a :kick:

The man is a class act.

enough of all the 'hot topics with hot air' - that one rings to the core of the issue

*outside view of WH. Birds singing.*
President Obama: These letters do more to keep me in touch with what is going on around the country than anything else.
Some of them are funny, some them are angry and a lot of them are sad or frustrated, about their current situation.
WH aide: In his first week as President he asked for 10 letters everyday, and everyday since we've given it to him. *truck warning signal as ti reverses. Instrumental morning time music*
WA: We get 65,000 paper letters every week, we get something like 100,000 emails a week, 1000 faxes, 2500-3500 calls a day and our job is to take all that information in and to do the best analysis about what we're hearing from the public. And respond individually to all those folks, so they know that the President is listening.
*pictures of the thousands of letters delivered*
Anyone that sends a message to us, comes into our offices our staff sorts through them. They identify those that meet our 3 tests, are they Representative of the mail that is coming in, are they Representative of the news and is it something that is a compelling message. We pile that mail together so that it ends up on my desk. I sort through it categorize it by issue and then everyday I go through and pick the 10, that best represent what is happening right now. And it's a good dialog direct relationship between constituents who have these concerns and the President. Who desperately wants to get those messages. The President has talked about being in a bubble, and our job is to make sure he gets out of it everyday.
WA: Hey TOni how you doing?
Toni: Great, how you doing?
WA: How's everybody doing?
Toni: Everyone's doing well.

WA: Thank you this is for Morell.
Katie: OK.
WA: Are you good?
Katie: Yep, I'll give it to him.
Katie: He probably replies to something between 3 or 4 a night. So over the course of the week you're writing 15 to 20 letters. So he writes a lot and he handwrites every single one of them. Some are longer, some are shorter and the issues totally vary.

President Obama: Lately I've been getting a lot of healthcare letters. And this is a good example...
"Dear Mr Obama,

My son-in-law had a heart valve replace 2 years ago. His wife and 2 children pay $1,200 per month for health insurance. They cannot get another health provider because he has a pre-existing condition. He's now unemployed so my husband and myself are helping them, we are in our mid-sixties and this is draining our retirement..."

There are so many letters that I am receiving like that everyday. Here is another one...
A woman who's husband retired from AT&T is waiting to get on medicare. You now have the company in talks with the union and may decide to stop healthcare for retirees.

Got another one an antique business in Alabama, they are on the verge of losing their business, because they just can't afford to pay their premiums. Their premiums went up $70 a month just this month.

So a lot of the stories are heartbreaking. People who work hard a lot of them who have never written to a President before, and are not looking for a handout "all I want is just a fair shake." And it ends up being a powerful motivator for me, as we try to move this health agenda forward. Now some of them are more cheerful and this one for example...
"With all the huge money difficulties facing our country, I thought that you might like to see how someone spent their $250 stimulus money. Thank you for all the pleasures from tending my raised bed and from the vegetables I hope to enjoy." So she spent her money on a vegetable garden and she sent me a picture.

There is a beautiful letter I got just a few days ago, I'm going to be responding from a woman who had found a letter and she had forwarded to me. A letter form her father, when he was fighting in WWII. She had just been born and he had gotten news of her birth. He sent this letter...
"My dearest daughter,"
and explained what he was doing in Europe during WWII and why this was so important and what the country meant to him. And hoped that someday she would be old enough to read it and understand why this was so important. When you get letters like that, it gives you a sense of what is best about America. And inspires you and makes you want to work that much harder and make sure that spirit is reflected in our government.