Thursday, September 27, 2007

Dear Mr. President

Nice letter to the President by my former boss at Sojourners, Jim Wallis:

Dear Mr. President,
When I first heard that you were vowing to veto a bipartisan bill to expand child health care, my immediate thought was more personal than political: What has happened to you?

I vividly remember a call at the office, only one day after your election had been secured. It was an invitation to come to Austin to meet you and to discuss with a small group of religious leaders your vision for "faith-based initiatives" and your passion for doing something on poverty. I had not voted for you (which was no secret or surprise to your staff or to you), but you were reaching out to many of us in the faith community across the political spectrum who cared about poverty. I was impressed by that, and by the topic of the Austin meeting....

I remember you asking me, Jim, I don't understand poor people. I've never lived with poor people or been around poor people much. I don't understand what they think and feel about a lot of things. I'm just a white Republican guy who doesn't get it. How do I get it? I still recall the intense and sincere look on your face as you looked me right in the eyes and asked your heartfelt question. It was a moment
of humility and candor that, frankly, we don't often see with presidents....
Read the whole thing here.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous9:31 AM

    Aaron, it is a very good letter. I'm glad you posted it. I would have missed it otherwise.

    ReplyDelete