It never hurts to be polite.

I wrote this follow up letter after getting the call from Natasha, letting me know that there was a glimmer of a possibility that maybe someday I might get a call that could be an invitation to meet with the President.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Melissa S. Bennett
Deputy Assistant to the President
for Appointments and Scheduling

Dear Ms. Bennett,

I am writing to thank you.

On November 8, I received a call from Natasha informing me that the President did not have any immediate openings in his schedule to meet with me.

She stated further, however, that you would (I am paraphrasing here; please correct me if my understanding is not accurate) keep an eye out for such an opening in his schedule in the future, and then let me know when I could meet with President Bush.

Natasha also made clear that there were no guarantees, but I certainly feel that at this point it is more a matter of WHEN and not IF, that I will get to meet with my President.

I am very happy about this and look forward to the meeting.

I will contact your office in a month or so, if I have not heard from you. I don't want you to think that I've lost interest!

Warm Regards,

Steven Feuerstein

A citizen of the United States

The White House Calls Back!

On this day of all days....some say there is no such thing as coincidence. Who can tell?

Anyway, I was driving back from Milwaukee, where I'd done a two hour PL/SQL best practices talk for a group of 100 Oracle technologists (sponsored by Quest Software), listening to the news of (shock! awe!) the "resignation" of Rummy, and President Bush's admission that when he'd told three wire service reporters just last week that Rumsfeld and Cheney would be with him to the end of his term he'd been, well, pretty much lying through his teeth...and then phone rang!

It was Natasha from the White House Scheduling And Appointments Office with this message (paraphrased):

• We got your follow up letter to our follow up letter.
• We have no immediate openings in the President's schedule right now.
• But we will keep an eye out for an opening and then get in touch with you for a meeting.
• But no guarantees.

That's promising. Of course, it could just be a stalling tactic. I think what I will do is wait a month and then call/fax a reminder. Do that every month, maybe every two weeks after the first month.

But my gut feeling right now is that it is just a matter of time (when, not if) until I have an appointment to meet Public Servant #1!

Finally, I get around to responding to the Bennett letter

I mailed and faxed this letter to the appropriate office of the White House:

Monday, November 06, 2006

Steven Feuerstein
6759 North Maplewood
Chicago IL 60645-4619
Phone: 773 426 9093
Fax: 773 262 8138
steven@stevenfeuerstein.com

Melissa S. Bennett
Deputy Assistant to the President
for Appointments and Scheduling

Dear Ms. Bennett,

In August 2006, I sent a letter to your office requesting a meeting with the President.

On September 11, 2006, you sent me a reply which stated:

Unfortunately, we have had to make some difficult decisions regarding the President's schedule. It is with sincere regret that we must decline your invitation. I want to assure you, however, that your letter received every consideration. Thank you for your understanding.

I find this reply puzzling, and I need some clarification.

In my original letter, I wrote that " 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."

In other words, I offered to meet with the President wherever and whenever it was possible to do so.

Given that, it seems to me that what your letter is actually saying is that the President outright refuses to meet with me.

It is hard for me to see how my letter did in fact receive "every consideration" in light of such a blanket rejection. And I just don't understand the basis for this decision.

You mention the President's schedule. Surely, for example, the President still has time in his calendar in, say, March or September 2007, or even in 2008?

I am happy to "wait my turn"; I understand that the President is a busy man, especially now. But even he must still have some slots open for meeting with a citizen of the United States who is actually ready to spend the time and money to come to Washington (or wherever) for a brief conversation.

Thank you for your further consideration in this matter.

Regards,

Steven Feuerstein

A citizen of the United States