tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380860494664185162023-11-15T11:28:19.280-05:00Post To The PresidentDear Mr. President, This site was built for you. So that you may know our stories. You shook a million hands on the campaign trail. now hear a million voices. I hope this site gives you courage and humility and you keep us in your heart as you lead "We The People"Post To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-68943504165035769002009-10-02T09:09:00.001-04:002009-10-02T09:09:59.062-04:0031.Dear Mr. President,<br /> <br /> Hi. I am from Florida, I am trying to buy a house with my boyfriend. He voted for you, I didn't... That doesn't mean I don't support my president! I am just going to get straight to the point. We are trying to live the American dream, like everyone else. Buy a house, make it a home, get married and live our lives. I am sure you know that property taxes and insurance of Florida are ludicrous. We can afford to buy and have no issues with our credit. We have been waiting for what seems like forever to buy. I know our economy is terrible now and I trust that you are doing your best to fix that issue. I am begging that you take a look at what you can do to fix the detriment that is occurring in this state. My boyfriend and I feel that we are doing our part as Americans by buying a house now, but this seems impossible. Please help Florida!<br /> <br />Two "homeless" FloridansPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-59069493172739642242009-03-22T10:34:00.001-04:002009-03-22T10:35:52.014-04:0030.Mr President, this is not going to be one of those letters that tells you how great you are doing and how proud I am of you. Frankly, your performance to date can only be termed as abysmal. Obviously, I did not vote for you but I would certainly be willing to give you your due if there was anything you had done in the first sixty days of your administration that I would consider even a little praise worthy. Unfortunately for the American people I cannot point to one thing.<br /><br />So far the only thing you have done is break most of the campaign promises you made to the more moderate people inclined to vote for you and cater to the left wing radicals that you so closely identify with. We on the right warned our fellow citizens about your radical leanings and lack of any real executive experience, but our warnings and predictions were buried under the combined weight of the victim mentality and feigned racist outrage your supporters are so known for. To question your qualifications or criticize your associations was universally decried as racist or hate mongering. All the while your minions did all they could to personally impugned people like Sarah Palin, who on her worst day has more applicable executive experience than you do to be our commander in chief. <br /><br />But my bigger point, Mr. President, is that all I have seen from you in these first two months is an attitude of arrogance and disassociation from the severe problems facing this country and her citizens. You spoke repeatedly of bipartisanship and transparency during the campaign, promised that you would be different from the practices of the past. Yet you have not only continued with the same old Washington practices, you have taken them to a whole new level of partisanship and non transparency. You abrogated your responsibility as POTUS and allowed a wholly partisan congressional leadership to craft the stimulus bill behind closed doors with zero Republican input and then broke your own promise to allow five legislative days for the American people to read any proposed legislation on the Internet before you would sign it in to law. <br /><br />During the campaign you put on the robes of the everyman, and made such a production about how you care so much for the common working people. Well, Mr. President, actions always speak louder than words and your actions show all that to be just what the people of my party were trying to tell others so intoxicated by your words, they truly were 'just words'. While you have the oval office thermostat at 80 degrees and sup on Wagu beef at one hundred dollars per pound, the working people of America are trying to find ways to conserve that gallon of milk or that loaf of bread a day or two longer, and wondering, if they have a job, will they still have it next week or next month. And you Mr. President, what do you do? You fly out to the coast and appear on Leno. You were elected to run this country, a country currently in the worst economic crisis since the 1920's, to see our chief executive take time out to appear on a talk show is simply beyond the pale and further illustrates your lack of fitness for the job. The worst of it is that you lack the insight to understand what message this sends to Americans struggling to make ends meet, and apparently lack the maturity to see where your duty lies. Neither of which instills the confidence of the American people. One little hint for you, it isn't't on the set of the Tonight Show.<br /><br />In naught but sixty days you have tripled the national debt, shown a capacity for cooking the books that would make an Enron exec green with envy and broken almost all of your campaign promises about openness and bipartisanship, quite simply all your words about change were just that, only words.<br /><br />Mr. President, it is time for you to awaken from this ideological stupor you are in and realize that the American people, will not embrace the socialistic society you have been mislead to believe is the destiny of this republic. The protests and 'Tea Parties" you are seeing now will pale in comparison to the backlash you will feel from the American people should you continue down this road and ignore our protestations. We will not stand by while you attempt to reshape the very pillars of our national identity. <br /><br />Mr. President, you have been in office only sixty days and already have been found wanting. It is painfully obvious that you are simply not up to the task of running this country. Your actions and words are those of a frat boy, fresh out of college, so sure that he has it all figured out, still believing all the claptrap fed to you by your ex hippie professors, who never left the 'summer of love' behind. <br /><br />President Obama, the 60's are over, socialism has failed, and we do not wish to try your vision of it here in the US. Post To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-86727902484296605352009-03-09T12:39:00.001-04:002009-03-09T12:39:18.664-04:0029.Dear President Obama,<br /><br />Today I was refused treatment at the cancer institute for my six month <br />CT scan. They told me my insurance was no good and didn't pay enough <br />to cover their costs. Now I have this insurance because we spent 26 <br />years in the military serving this country in times of war and peace, <br />feast and famine. I got to choose which insurance I got and I took the <br />one where I pay the most out of pocket and had the best coverage. Not <br />the HMO one that is free. I pay the first $3000 out of pocket.<br /><br />We were told we would have lifetime insurance while we were making <br />substandard pay all those years. We were told a lot of things. This <br />has happened on your watch and it is a disgrace. You should be <br />ashamed. All of Congress should be ashamed. I'll bet yours and their <br />coverage never told them to go home without a test like this after <br />cancer, now did it? I'll bet old Ted Kennedy didn't hear this, now <br />did he? You bet your bippy he didn't. I'll bet if I was your wife or <br />daughter I would not have been told this. Twenty-six years in the <br />military Mr. President! Twenty-six years!<br /><br />Luckily I have enough money to pay for it myself. No thanks to any of <br />you I might add. But what about all the retired military that does not <br />have enough money? What about them Mr. President? Oh, go bail out some <br />more banks. You have your priorities. Shoot fire, heck a brick! I'll <br />see every one of y'all at the polls though.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />A crazy old woman in a tiara...Post To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-62605003018079232692009-02-27T17:18:00.001-05:002009-02-27T17:18:32.464-05:0028.For the first time in my adult life I feel HOPE for our country. I feel like there is actually someone in the White House that knows a little something about someone like me. I feel like you are the kind of man that will not put up with the $10000 toilet seat. <br /> <br />Hope is some completely appropriate for your administration...It is exactly what I feel every time I hear you speak, or hear about something else going wrong in our country. This is a tough time for Americans...we have been too self absorbed for too long...We are in a crisis...and I think we are up for the challenge. <br /> <br />I am grateful for being here at this time. I am grateful for being a part of history in the making. I believe you will do us proud, and I believe that you will do what is right.<br /> <br />Thank you<br />Dawn<br />Plainfield, ILPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-4201165281730374612009-02-27T07:58:00.000-05:002009-02-27T07:59:06.156-05:0027.I have so much hope with you in office and I'm looking forward to the changes in the many individuals inspired by you and in this country as a result. <br /><br />Your address to Congress on the 24th was amazing and I'm now wondering where I should begin donating my time as a volunteer to help my community. (I'll find something, don't worry ;). I got goosebumps when you invoked the name of Teddy Roosevelt...such power and passion. <br /><br />I can't wait to see what great things will come from your administration. <br /><br />You rock! Keep it up! Tell Joe and the family I said hi. <br /><br />Peace, <br />Ginger <br />Denver, ColoradoPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-84979735007228380242009-02-24T11:28:00.001-05:002009-02-24T11:28:32.785-05:0026.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />It was a thrill watching you get sworn into office, and I'm proud to be of the generation that broke from the norm to elect you. I know you've inherited a mess, but I am hopeful. I also understand that this isn't your burden alone, and that I have a part to play as well. So, as you vow to do what you can for this country, I vow to help where I can.<br /><br />That being said I do have two wishlist items for your administration: first is gay marriage. Someone tried to explain to me that much of that issue hinges on the definition of the word 'marriage', but quite frankly I care very little about a definition if it stands in the way of two people being legally joined together. I hope by the end of your time in office that same-sex couples have the right to be legally married.<br /><br />My second wish is that once you've gotten all of this stimulus spending out of your system, that you work to bring about a Balanced Budget Amendment. It seems to me that we get into a deficit mess every time we get someone in office who doesn't care about expenditures balancing with revenue. It would ease my mind to know that we have some protection in the future from excessive spending.<br /><br />That's all I have right now. Thanks for your time and good luck.<br /><br />Christa<br />Houston, TexasPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-37038809095893094552009-02-20T18:22:00.003-05:002009-02-20T18:22:48.297-05:0025.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />I'd like to say that I am happy that you won the election. You seem like a smart man who treats us as a people as if we are intelligent and reasonable. Sometimes I feel that you give us too much credit, but I like being spoken to honestly by our leader since, well, for the first time in my life. <br /><br />There are many changes I would like to see happen to this nation but I will not list them. instead I would just like to ask you to please maintain you integrity and your morals while in office. Treat others as you would like to be treated, both in your interpersonal relationships and in your diplomatic ones. Do not forget the human element in your decision making process. <br /><br />Please help us show the rest of the world that Americans are intelligent and reasonable, and please help us remember what that looks like.<br /><br />Lise BakerPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-10612922402389479942009-02-20T18:22:00.001-05:002009-02-20T18:22:22.599-05:0024.First of all, congratulations on becoming our new president. Secondly, I want to thank you for selecting Hillary Clinton to represent the United States as Secretary of State. I love what she is doing now on her Asian tour ... listening, listening, listening. This is so important and we need to have allies out there in the world, we are not in this alone. Her statement at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo that your administration, the Obama Administration, seeks to balance defense, diplomacy and development. To me this is the basis of encouraging the other D-word, Democracy, in the rest of the world.<br /><br />The choice of Madam Secretary's visit to a mainly Muslim democracy, Indonesia, is of particular importance. Understanding that being a Muslim country does not mean human rights are violated or that individuals cannot embrace a more Western attitude. We are off to a good start in the diplomacy department.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Cheryl Cato<br />Bastrop, TXPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-84666517967296486582009-02-19T15:15:00.000-05:002009-02-19T15:16:07.730-05:0023.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />Congratulations! I was so excited to watch you win the election, and<br />wish I could have been among those standing in the cold chanting "Yes<br />We Can." You truly inspire hope for all of us, especially in a time of such uncertainty.<br /><br />If I had one wish for this country it would be for an education and<br />health care plan like that of the UK. Free for all citizens.<br /><br />Times are hard and we do need a change. A BIG change.<br /><br />Rachel SmithPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-73649876291438990482009-02-19T13:24:00.001-05:002009-02-19T13:24:42.697-05:0022.Dear President Obama,<br /><br />First of all, congratulations on the big win!! Woohoo!! I voted for you and I'm proud to call you my president! I just have a small bone to pick with you.<br /><br />A few years ago, my family debated whether or not we could afford to move into a bigger house in a better school district. After lots of number crunching, we determined that it would not be possible. No matter how many coupons I clipped or what luxuries we gave up, it was a better financial decision for us to stay in our smaller house and wait to move when we could better afford it. In other words, we made a responsible decision. We continued paying our mortgage and other bills as most Americans do and hoped that one day the opportunity would come for us to move. <br /><br />Now that I'm hearing that there may be some sort of mortgage bail-out for those people that got in over their heads, I am feeling a bit frustrated. I understand the need to prevent people from going into foreclosure for the better good of the nations economy, BUT I do think it should be done in a way that doesn't reward people for their poor financial decisions. Please restructure their loans in a way that does not reward irresponsible behavior. <br /><br />If you are going to reward someone, please reward those of us who have been consistent in paying our mortgages on time. I voted for you because I believed that you would help to make this country better. Please be fair.<br /><br />Thanks for your consideration in this matter.<br /><br />Sincerely, <br />Jen<br />Baltimore, MDPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-22597028080160551612009-02-17T02:42:00.001-05:002009-02-17T02:42:53.608-05:0021.Dear President Obama,<br /><br />I was honored more than you can know to vote for you in November's election. As a young twenty-something, this is the first time I voted and truly felt happy with my decision.<br /><br />I am writing this not to tell you what needs to be done to fix our broken country. I am writing this more to show you how things look from my point of view.<br /><br />I am a single parent. I work out of the home full-time. I do not have a college degree. I rent an apartment, and do not own any property. I do not have stocks. My car was given to me by my mother free and clear. I am not struggling to make ends meet on a day to day basis, but we do live paycheck to paycheck. I am lucky enough to make decent money doing something I enjoy.<br /><br />Despite, or possibly because of all these factors, my son and I have not been affected as badly as others by the failing economy. I have very little to call my own and as a result, have very little to lose. On the flip side of that coin, what I stand to lose is vital to the survival of my son and myself.<br /><br />I have friends who have had to walk away from homes that they scrimped and scraped to buy because of foreclosure. I have family members who are in college and not sure how they will be able to afford to continue with the rumored cuts on financial aid and freezes on student loans. Small businesses all over are having to close their doors because they aren't making enough to cover their space rentals let alone paying their employees. People are losing their jobs left and right with no hopes of finding new ones with things being as bad as they are.<br /><br />Families that are utilizing our social programs such as medi-cal, welfare, food stamps, and childcare subsidization are being sent notices that their assistance is being reduced or cut off completely. Violent crimes are already rising. Food and gas prices are rising.<br /><br />What are we supposed to do? How much worse can things get? How long will it be before things begin to look up? <br /><br />These are the questions I ask myself every day while driving to work, tucking my son into bed at night and balancing my checkbook. <br /><br />I don't think that will you be able to fix everything that has gone wrong (it would be unfair to ask that of anyone) but I do have faith that you will at least be able to begin the healing process within our country and get things on the right track.<br /><br /><br />Thank you,<br /><br />Nikki<br />San Diego, CAPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-11543665494141231602009-02-16T17:53:00.001-05:002009-02-16T17:55:31.855-05:0020.Dear President Obama,<br /><br />I was honored to vote for you from abroad (Guatemala) last November<br />and have watched with admiration as you have begun tackling the<br />countless challenges America faces today. Your calls for "national<br />service" whether domestically or abroad, inclusion of "non-believers"<br />and acceptance "homosexuals" in your rhetoric resonates deeply with me<br />as a gay, atheist, Peace Corps volunteer currently serving in Central<br />America.<br /><br />I write today in total confidence that you have the "steady hand" of<br />stewardship to get America back on track with transparent and<br />economically sound terms. But there is so much yet to do.<br /><br />With every passing day, I continue to feel like a second-class citizen<br />because of one identity characteristics listed above. I am a gay<br />American, Mr. President. You promised to repeal DOMA (the defense of<br />marriage act) and "don't ask, don't tell," and to support equal<br />protection statues under federal law for gays and lesbians across this<br />country during your campaign. I have yet to see these statements<br />realized and while I understand that "these things take time," but the<br />time has come to make history.<br /><br />You Mr. president should understand as a black man that no American<br />deserves to feel like a second class citizen for something that they<br />cannot change and should understand and that the power of societal<br />inclusion can only go so far without federal support. As I would argue<br />that your awesome rise to become my president exists today because<br />of federal civil rights laws protecting you as a African-American from<br />unjust and undeserved discrimination and hate crimes I demand that you<br />now make such a dream possible for any gay or lesbian child who could<br />someday be my president as well.<br /><br />President Obama, I choose to love instead of hate and would not snap<br />my fingers to "become straight" even if I could. Why? Because I am<br />proud of who I am. I am proud to serve my country. I am proud to<br />support you. I am proud that I have the power to love and be loved in<br />return. In this world filled with so much wrong and hate I would<br />expect this worlds leading democracy to be a beacon of love in every<br />way possible. Viewing non-straight people as equals seems like such an<br />easy way to express said love.<br /><br />So now is your turn, Mr. President. Use your bully pulpit and<br />political capital to keep strong on your promise to provide equal<br />rights to all Americans: gay or straight, black or white, man or<br />woman.<br /><br />I support you and have secular faith in your power to make me feel<br />like a 1st class citizen in this free country we call the United<br />States of America.<br /><br />Grant Martin Picarillo<br />Guatemala<br />February, 2009Post To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-79120695134782212092009-02-16T14:35:00.001-05:002009-02-16T14:38:00.149-05:0019.Dear Mr. President-<br /><br />Congratulations on your election. For once I voted for someone who won. <br /><br />I am a married mother of 2 college-age daughters in Texas. My husband and I work for the same market research company that is based in the UK. We are fortunate that our company is doing well and foresees no need to reduce its workforce in the UK or the US.<br /><br />I’m pleased to see that the stimulus bill has finally passed despite Republican hostility. I had hoped that we would see a new day dawn on Washington but that is not to be. Old ways die hard and it will be a long fight to restore our democracy.<br /><br />You have inherited quite a few problems but I believe you are the man for the job. Don’t let yourself fall into excuses or rhetoric. You may have inherited these problems but we’re looking to you to fix them. Keep looking forward and not back.<br /><br />Change comes neither easily nor swiftly but it will come. Know that there are many Americans who await this change and look to you to lead this charge. <br /><br />We are entering a new political landscape, one that allows the electorate more voice than ever before. The Internet and all that can be accomplished using its many wonders and voices will change the way politics are played forever. Your campaign was a herald of things to come but know that the genie is out of the bottle. Just as you were able to use the Internet to defeat your opponent, it can used to keep you honest.<br /><br />I recently wrote to my Senators and Congressman with a plea to put aside their partisan differences and vote Yes on the stimulus package. I ended those letters with a phrase that I share with you here:<br /><br />“The electorate is awake, we're pissed off and we're paying attention.”<br /><br />I hope that you, as an intelligent, gifted individual (and let me just say how refreshing that is to see in a politician) will be able to move our nation forward through these difficult times and into a new day. You have a difficult job ahead of you fraught with hardship both personal and public, but one that I feel you were called to do. Move forward with hope and peace and the knowledge that despite the many shrill voices allayed against you there are those who wish you well with all their hearts.<br /><br />Stacy<br />Round Rock, TexasPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-20265996459087249062009-02-16T14:24:00.001-05:002009-02-16T14:26:26.784-05:0018.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />I am so proud to sit here and write this. You are not only our 44th president of these United States; you are also our very first African American President (just in case you were unaware of that fact). That in and of itself is a great thing and shows how far we've come. As you said in your inauguration speech, not even 60 years ago your father would have been refused service at a restaurant. From my perspective, the greatest part of today is that we chose the best candidate for president (in my opinion) DESPITE the fact that you are African American. I may be naive when I say this, but I choose to believe that in this race for president we did not vote for a color but rather the best of the best. I believe that you would not have wanted to be elected just for the color of your skin, but rather how you proposed to change the country for the better.<br /><br />When you were declared the winner, I hope that everyone felt (even those who did not vote for you) that there was no loser. Truly, we all won and proved that we have come so far. My favorite quote was something to the effect of "Obama has finished what a King started." <br /><br />The night you were declared the 44th president of the United States I thought of my students, who were so interested in the election since school began last fall, making banners and begging me to tell them who I was voting for. The day after the election I asked my class (21 7 & 8 year olds, many whose parents are immigrants) who they would have voted for, if they could have voted. Only 2 students disagreed with the outcome and I could swear that I noticed a difference in some of my students. November 5th, 2008 was a day when the world shifted, and children who were not white and affluent, believed with all their hearts they could be anything they wanted to be.<br /><br />When I heard the news that you had been elected, I pictured my students from Sudan, India, Bosnia, Mexico, and many other countries. I saw them in a different light, a different world, where all their dreams could come true and no longer did just I and the child believe it, but the country confirmed it. This was a day that I saw the United States reach out to each and every child and whisper in their ear that "anything is possible, anything can be." This made me proud to be part of this country.<br /><br />A student from the first year I taught, Ngor (from Sudan), is one of the most intelligent people I have met in my entire life (and that includes many adults) and I believe, down to my core, the only reason he entered my classroom with the academic skills of a Kindergartner was because he was not given the opportunity to succeed. He amazes me each day with his courage, generosity, and kindness. Today Ngor came to see me before school and said he had a present for Finn (my 8 month old son). He handed me a worn toy. This boy that has nothing (he wears the same outfit almost every day) has shared what little he has. He gives it selflessly and expects nothing in return. Be wise, Mr. President, and continue to provide these children not only with the hope that they can achieve anything they work for, but also the opportunity to make their dreams come true.<br /><br />I bring Ngor up today because, although I don't believe the country is quite ready for a person with that color of skin, it does signify that we are moving in that direction and one day it will not only be possible, but it will also come to fruition. I look at my girls who proudly wear hajibs and all the other students, from Cambodia to China, and I feel their hope and it just about makes me want to do more. My son was born as a member of the most advantaged group in our society: American, white, male. However, I speak for both of us when I say that we are proud that he will be competing for college and career opportunities with all different ages, races, sexes, stages and may the best person win.<br /><br />I watched you being sworn in as president with my class of second graders. It was completely silent, you could have heard a pin drop and as awesome of an experience it was to witness history being made, it was just as great of a moment to see all my students of all colors staring open mouthed at the screen. I almost cried when you took the oath of office and when you gave your speech; it made me want to do more for this country, to create the best country possible. We are so blessed that we live in the greatest country in the world and we need to do our all to make sure that it stays that way for our children, our children's children, and for our neighboring countries. All countries of the world should be so lucky as us and I hope that we can extend a helping hand to make sure they get there! I explained to my students that the reason I am a teacher is because I believe that they can be whatever it is they want to be, as long as they work hard. I work hard today so they can achieve their dream tomorrow.<br /><br />I heard this today and I thought it summarized everything perfectly. Rosa sat so Martin could walk, Martin walked so Obama could run, Obama ran so kids of any color can fly. I say today Mr. President, that I bow to your wisdom, walk and stand beside you, call on me to help and together we will make this country even better than it is. I pray for your safety; would stand up to fight for this country, and give my life to protect yours.<br /><br />Kate HankePost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-75076219840500154832009-02-16T09:49:00.001-05:002009-02-16T09:50:57.860-05:0017.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />I like you, a lot. I think you are just the voice we need for our generation and that is evident in the overwhelming support you got from the young voters. I believe you believe in your message and that your heart is in the right place. While all that is well and good I urge you not to forget how distressed your supporters really are.<br /><br />I have worked hard for my money, working long hours, demanding physical labor, and taking low paying jobs just to support myself. I've lived within my means and haven't purchased a home I can't afford and yet I am one of the many suffering today due to the mistakes of others. Everyone I know wonders how they're going to stay in their homes with no income. Many of us, including me, are wondering which "luxury" we can live without, internet to find a job, heat to keep us warm, or gas for our car to keep up with the hunt. <br /><br />I was responsible, I made wise financial decisions and yet I am hurting more than ever while the mortgage giants have to settle for smaller billion dollar bonuses. Seriously? I hate politics. I hate that the rich are the powerful while the poor fall under the rug. I'm not asking for communism or even socialism, I am asking for capitalism. If a bank messes up, let them fail. Obviously if they had horrible business practices that have led them to crash, so be it. We are better off. Let the ones with the right message and proper ethics prosper. <br /><br />No more bailing out the ones dipping their fingers into your desserts. <br /><br />You gave me the hope to believe in America and now I'm hoping you stick to your word.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />A Little Ol' CivilianPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-7565884507158883442009-02-16T09:19:00.001-05:002009-02-16T09:19:56.100-05:0016.Mr. President:<br /> <br />Hope and change are all great, I like the tone you have set. But hope doesn't pay my bills.<br /> <br />I lost my job while watching idiots keep theirs and get paid obscene amounts of money to keep screwing things up.<br /> <br />Things have been screwed up far too long by idiots who just didn't seem to care.<br /> <br />You seem to care, so I have a feeling you won't screw things up.<br /> <br />Please do not abuse our trust. I for one am wishing you all the best.<br /> <br />Peace,<br />Kevin<br />Baltimore, MarylandPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-9712141395075346232009-02-14T08:48:00.001-05:002009-02-14T08:48:42.949-05:0015.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />In a world where Global Warming seems to be the biggest environmental problem, I sometimes wonder if our representatives remember that people need clean water and sufficient food to survive…not new and improved cars. Not new ways to make "green" gas, or find ways to become "independent" from our energy needs. See with the economy in the shape it is, those energy needs will be going down anyway, as well as driving, as well as spending, and as well as anything else frivolous or extra. <br /><br />It seems fashionable to talk about doing the whole "green" thing. It appears popular and the right thing to do and IT IS---but consider that there are people across the US who do not even have their basic needs met. And buying a green bag at stores is going to help the global community how? Going green is not buying a special bag at a store, or eating organic, or installing solar panels. These are good and GREAT things, however, is the govt offering people billions of dollars to revamp their lifestyles? it seems like a ploy just to keep digging ourselves into a deeper hole that will eventually collapse and bury us alive.<br /><br />Realizing the USA is hard enough to deal with sir, it would seem prudent to worry about keeping our country alive…and less about making sure everyone likes us. Because they can like us all they want, but we'll die starving before we ask for help. <br /><br />Respectfully putting my trust in your decisions and judgements, I will not judge you for what you think is best, just like previous presidents. You do what you can and what you think is right, and I will know at the end of your time that you truly worked as hard as you could. Because I believe every president deserves that trust to truly lead our country. <br /><br /> Sincerely,<br />Survival of the WisestPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-34415587901401310622009-02-13T15:29:00.000-05:002009-02-13T15:30:10.275-05:0014.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />And we thought Bartlet was the answer to all our prayers. <br /><br />Love and peace,<br />Miriam<br />Seattle, WAPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-88361629528606051102009-02-13T14:08:00.001-05:002009-02-13T14:10:46.510-05:0013.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />You are way hotter than the last President. Keep up the good work in the gym. <br /><br />signed- anonymousPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-86349811149198198462009-02-13T09:49:00.001-05:002009-02-13T09:50:29.153-05:0012.First of all, this blog is incredible... thank you. Here's my letter...<br /><br />Dear Mr. President,<br />I believe that you really do want whats best for this country. I do. I'm trying to support you. Trying to keep the faith, so to speak, which is not an easy task with all that's going on.However, you didn't make the mess, and I know that. But last night I heard some news that is earth shattering. Not only to my family, but to the majority of America. I hear that you're more worried about giving back to the unions who supported your campaign than you are about the rest of us. The majority of this country's workforce is non-union. My husband is part of that majority. What really get's me here is that even though companies like my husbands are at the cutting edge of their industry, winning awards, and consistently doing the best work, you've decided that the majority of the job's created by your stimulus (which WE'RE paying for) will be given strictly to union operated companies. Why is this?! Why ruin the hope of so many people before this has even got started!? Why not let the "cream rise to the top" by letting every company bid for the jobs just like it goes everyday??? If you eliminate the non-union workers, I have no doubt it will directly effect my family. Every day my husband goes to work to build better schools and hospitals. If all the new projects are only allowed to be bid by union workers, what will his company do?? Just think about it sir, I'm not saying don't give the unions a chance, because they deserve to work just like any one else. But don't ruin the rest of our opportunities. <br /><br />Sincerely,<br />A Worried Wife MotherPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-59980001426218776792009-02-13T09:47:00.001-05:002009-02-13T10:24:41.970-05:0011.Mr. President, <br /><br />I would like to introduce myself as your Independent citizen. One who is socially liberal, and fiscally conservative. I think a person should take care of themselves and their family, I believe in small government, and I don't think the government should have any say in my small business or personal lifestyle choices.<br /><br />I didn't vote for you, I voted for the other guy. Not that I have anything against you - I think you have fantastic potential and I will happily put my vote behind you if I think you have done a good job four years from now. But things like this stimulus package are the reason I have my doubts.<br /><br />I am the face of most of your young Southern citizens. I am also the married mother of three, whose husband will lose his job some time this year for the second time in two years. He works for the state government.<br /><br />We are well-educated, firmly middle-class citizens who will not be able to make ends meet when he loses this job. We will lose our first house, which is now worth less than we paid for it, and have to suck up our pride and pray that one of our relatives has room for our family of five. A family we could afford two years ago, before we lost everything in his first layoff.<br /><br />I see all these plans to make new jobs, but they're not aimed at people like my husband - a suit with two degrees and a decade of experience in a desk job. Your jobs are aimed at the factory workers, and those with blue-collar experience. Paving roads, and building new schools are admirable goals, but what about those men and women who have never lifted a hammer? The mortgage brokers and bankers and journalists and travel agents whose fields have disappeared? What should they do?<br /><br />When my husband was laid off the first time, we even looked to the big box stores for simple jobs. But the thing is, that won't cover day care for our children, and we would both have to work full time at one of these stores to pay our bills. We live well within our means and had money set away for such an emergency, but there are only so many hits a family can take before<br />they're left perilously with nothing. That's where we are.<br /><br />What are your plans for us, the struggling middle-class families? What are these stimulus packages going to to do for our retirement, and our children's college dreams? And what kind of country is this stimulus package going to leave for my middle-class children?<br /><br />Sincerely, <br /><br />Evans, GAPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-35934529510550505802009-02-13T03:58:00.002-05:002009-02-13T04:10:13.384-05:0010.Mr President,<br /><br />Close your eyes and turn a circle-- walk to a map of America--place your finger down-- open them-- no matter where your finger is pointing on that map we are hurting in ways you will never have to know. <br /><br />Now.<br /><br />Walk in front of that camera and explain to me why some asshole that ran a bank into the ground got a 18 million dollar bonus from my tax dollars. explain it slow. Apparently I'm an idiot. I've been working hard trying not to screw up. I didn't get a bonus. I got a punch to the groin watching CNN as they announced that banks got bailouts and we get a stimulus? Maybe I will get a chance to put weather stripping on houses. Things are looking up already.<br /><br />Please tell me in a way that will move my walk thru a day why I should care anymore. <br /><br />frustrated - an American?Post To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-33641113402582673152009-02-12T18:39:00.001-05:002009-02-12T18:42:52.761-05:009.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />I am sure you get a lot of advice, and some of it is bound to be good. I am also fairly confident you are smart enough to recognize said advice when you see it. In regard to your economic, domestic, and foreign policies, while I do value my voice in such matters, I will not presume so much about my own knowledge on these subjects as to lend you yet more advice. Instead, I will share a few hopes and fears.<br /><br />In your inaugural address, you made mention of "non-believers," including them equally in your hope for a better America. You also caught some flack for that, though why anyone would want to be intolerant of tolerance is beyond me. In any case, there are many of us whose eyes lit up and whose hearts filled with hope at the simple inclusion of that segment of our society that does not believe in a higher power, a segment that has for too long felt that our nation has been steered by an inherently dogmatic hand. We have watched dogma color the tone of our wars, the domestic policies that affect our love lives, and even the way our taxes are handled.<br /><br />I am expressing this sentiment not out of any hope for the exclusion of faith within the ranks of our public servants. Faith and fairness can coexist even in that context, I believe. You are a perfect example of that. I merely wish for one thing to be true about your time in office: that hope drives your hand, and not religious belief. I hope that you recognize the dogmatic and unfair nature of our laws governing same-sex marriage and the solely religious nature of this policy. I hope you remember the fear that many of our founding fathers had of religion affecting the government too much. I hope understand how much of the popular support for the war in Iraq was and is faith-driven. I hope that your faith can keep you strong enough to understand that not everyone uses that kind of faith for their strength, and that the strongest possible America will accept all of these strengths.<br /><br />Even the term "non-believers" is a bit of a non-sequitur, I feel. Belief doesn't have to involve a "higher" power. We can believe in the vast breadth of human experience and the mysteries science holds. We can believe in the universe and rest assured that it's answers are out there. The same God that the dogmatist prays to and the impious pay lip-service to is the same one that is printed on our money, money created by a private corporation and conveniently used to fund our wars... at interest. Perhaps dogma can help people overlook certain fundamental problems with their society even as they use their faith in a similar way to help them overcome problems in their lives. That is the danger of belief, and while I feel that your beliefs are of a personal, spiritual nature, when applied to governmental policies, they are dangerous.<br /><br />What I am saying, in summation, is that I hope that you keep hoping and dreaming, and chasing those hopes and dreams all the while remembering that our nation truly needs to be supported by as many ideals and strengths as possible, but the fundamental nature of our government should not be colored by any one of these. Keep hope alive, Mr. President, because even us non-believers believe in you.<br /><br />Hopefully,<br />A BelieverPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-15195231391993515092009-02-12T18:37:00.000-05:002009-02-12T18:39:22.397-05:008.Dear President Obama,<br /><br />It is hard to know what exactly to write to someone in a position such as yourself. You are this huge important person in the world. Over the course of your campaign I watched from afar and heard your message. Hope. Anything is possible. Change.<br /><br />It’s what we all want. Change is never easy but I don’t think you can find people more eager for change then the citizens you now lead. I believe for the first time, my voice has been heard. You might not have my small American voice all the way from Germany had I not voted. I admit this was only my second time ever voting even though I’ve had the right to do so for thirteen years. I voted in the election because I finally felt that someone truly wanted to listen. And I am relieved that you are that someone who listened to my small but important voice.<br /><br />I’m living as an expat family of four. My husbands employer had to remove all their operations from the US this January simply because they had so much loss of revenue the company wasn’t worth keeping. It’s a global company well represented elsewhere in the world. But what does that mean for me and my family? In one year we are going to return home to somewhere in America with no job, no company, no one place to call home. That’s such an enormously stressful thought for me and one I think about everyday. I’m reminded by all the good people I knew who worked with my husband who now no longer have jobs and with the layoffs and companies collapsing around their ears, no chance of employment without fighting tooth and nail with others who are just as deserving. <br /><br />Does this make me scared to go home again? Very much so. I don’t want to wander the globe too much longer, my kids need stability and a community where we aren’t going to leave again in two or four years. But if we move back to America are we not setting ourselves up for the same thing? We were the lucky ones who left before the closure, got out before the mess. We are fortunate. But I think of my family. My sister and her three kids, her husband owns his own business. What do they do when they can no longer find anyone who wants to use their services? Where do they go? I worry about my parents, good people who served the city government for over thirty years. What do they do when they have no retirement money left? When every cent they’ve worked so hard for is gone because of this economy?<br /><br />I don’t know but I certainly hope you do.<br /><br />Living outside my country I hear things by reading blogs and news stories and I hear from people I know, my friends, about the hard times, lost jobs, good people who have to choose between paying their mortgage and buying food for their kids. I have the Hope that in the next year things can slowly start to move forward, gain progress towards these goals to relieve the stress of the American people. I will return home to America next year. With you as our President I hope the America I return to will be looking stronger and more like the America that I so love.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br />Andrea White<br /><br />US Citizen living in Bonn, GermanyPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238086049466418516.post-13389195823704106932009-02-12T12:37:00.002-05:002009-02-12T12:41:27.055-05:007.Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />First things first. I like you. If you lived on my street we would be friends. I wouldn’t ignore you like I do that one creepy couple with the mean dog down the street. I get the feeling that you're a good person, light shines from good people and we were in the dark for a good 8 years. So I am excited about all of this. With that said, I wanted to say a couple things. <br /><br />You are fond of saying and reminding us that you “inherited this mess.” I thought it was appropriate the first few times, but I’m worried that it will become a catch-phrase that you wield too often, and soon catch-phrases become excuses, and excuses become our problems. When people make a mistake as large scale as the over sight that occurred within our banks we are the ones that feel it. What the heck is going on up there on Wall Street? It’s like a pack of mad scientists gone wild, and they don’t realize that their inventions of these schemes and illegal money machines are creating massive amounts of hungry confused monsters, that are going to eventually turn on the system. You have to shut these freaks down. You have to do more then hard talk with these Wall Street bozos (which I totally appreciate that you aren’t afraid to show disdain for them, and it does make me feel a little better that you don’t smile their behavior off). But come on, grab one of these bankers by the neck and drag them across the White House lawn and give him the beating of their life. Make an example. <br /><br />I get that you have surrounded yourself around a solid brain trust, and I dig the way you went about it. But just be sure you have yourself a good mix of reality in your ear. Because like the very rich, the very smart tend to shrug off the little man, and just does right by his/her own kind. All I’m saying is, I know you have ‘Fighting Joe’ at your side, and he does well to remember the common man, as have you. You served the middle class with great love and attention during your rise. I am just reminding you not to get lost in that sea of intelligencia that can get caught up in proving that their theories are right... and sometimes forgets how much we are hurting while we wait for answers. <br /><br />I think it would serve all of you well to pretend that you have an entire country of drowning citizens, and right now we are watching that water line rise up to the necks of our families and watching you all put Wall Street into safety boats, and sending them to higher ground. That doesn’t feel good to see that stuff. If maybe the decision makers of Washington could move with the urgency that we are drowning, things might start to spark. I know you have that fire inside of you. I see it in your face when you have to explain to us why things are taking longer. I know that it kills you to have to deal with the stubborn old Washington and you are dealing with it. Just remember you’re the new President and you have a big wall of people behind you. Stir things up a little. Don’t worry about courtesy when you have a Nation to save. <br /><br />All the best – Your friendPost To The Presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05050604662410952461noreply@blogger.com