Well, the President is coming to town. Tomorrow. Just around the block from me. I walk out the side door, walk through a parking lot, and walk half a block and there he will be. I keep saying that I would never go see him, but this is about as close as he could get to seeing me.
I have mixed feelings about this.
On one hand, wow, we have to hand it to the people who got him to stop and speak in New Albany. He's also going to be speaking downtown. Regardless of how one feels about a President, his party, or his convictions, it is an amazing thing for the President to come to town.
Conversely, he will be touting his economic plans and how great they have been. For some. We will have to close our Clothes Closet tomorrow. The Clothes Closet serves the poor and and the working poor many of whom have not done well with those economic plans. The price of fuel and health care costs are devastating a whole lot of people and shrinking the middle class.
Presidents, unfortunately, are very insulated. The White House is far removed from the average person. Even when he walks into the Grand in New Albany many of the people around him will be thrilled that he is there and won't have a chance or opportunity to sit and talk with him. I wish, I so greatly wish, that he could or would sit down for coffee at Treets or the Little Chef and listen to people who aren't his fans and really hear what they have to say.
In a season of campaigns Presidents and people vying to be President do a lot of speeches. I wish they'd have the ability to do a lot of listens. Not just listen to the people around them, not just listen to the people who adore them, but listen to the people who respectfully disagree with them.
I just may show up in the crowd and if he wants to have a cup of coffee with him, I'll be happy to buy.
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