Step 2. Fax letter to the White House Scheduling Office

This is what I faxed today to the White House:

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to request the privilege of meeting with you. I have never before met a President of the United States, nor have I previously met you. I imagine such a meeting is not an easy thing to arrange. You have so many important, powerful people with whom to meet. I am just an ordinary American citizen concerned for the state of our democracy and future.

I feel, though, that in a democracy like ours, where no man is King (and no woman Queen) and all are equal in the eyes of the law and the Constitution, an ordinary citizen should be able to meet with the man who was elected by, and is responsible for the well-being and security of, the citizens of this great nation.

Why do I want to meet with you?

I will be very honest: I am not one of your supporters, politically. I strongly disagree with many of things you do and say. I don't want to meet with you, however, in order to talk about our differences of opinion.

No, I want to meet you and spend a little bit of time talking to you, because I have also been extremely dismayed with how you have been presented through the media (the only way I have been able to directly experience you, to date).

If I had nothing to go by except for the newspapers, television and blogs, I would have to conclude that you are very friendly, but not very intelligent. People make fun of the way you talk, and your command of the English language. They say that you are a puppet pulled by Vice President Dick Cheney's strings. They say you would rather take another vacation with your dog than actually buckle down to the tough business of running the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world.

I don't like my President being portrayed that way, or to be that way. I travel to Europe a few times a year to teach software programmers how to write better code. I am continually shocked at the low opinion many Europeans have of my President. That is terrible, not only for you, but for America as a whole.

So I would like to meet with you so that I can be assured that the way the media covers my President is inaccurate and insulting.

I would like to meet with you so that I can experience first-hand your intelligence, compassion, sense of humor, and leadership.

I look forward to hearing from your Scheduling Office on a time when I can come to Washington DC or Crawford, or wherever it is most convenient, to meet with you.

Regards,

Steven Feuerstein