Like Abraham Lincoln when he wrote back to the little girl who suggested he grow a beard, thanking her for her suggestion, Barack Obama has written to a little girl who wrote to him. It's in little things like this that one can get the measure of a man.
How very different from Bush!!! When our Isabella wrote him almost two years ago, it took months for her to get a reply--and then it was just a photo of him and Laura and a form letter, no indication at all that he had ever read her earnest letter.
I'll include Isabella's letter here for comparison, just as I wrote about it 2 years ago:
My little 6-year-old granddaughter Isabella has been listening to the news and asking questions lately like "What is going on with this president, Mommy? What is the matter with him? Doesn't he know people are being killed in this war? Doesn't he care?" One day, out of the blue, she said, "I want to write a letter to President Bush. Daddy, will you listen to what I say and write it down?" So her Dad did exactly that. Here is what she said:
Dear Mr. President,
You don't have to be afraid that somebody will hurt you. Promise you won't kill or hurt anybody and send out the army. Don't be mean. You should be nice. Please stop the war. The golden rule is the most important thing in the world. You are not using the golden rule. You gotta' be nice and caring and not start any wars, because you can get injured. We want to be kindful in this country.
Sincerely,
Isabella Darling (She signed her name and put Age 6 under it)
My daughter Jeanie often reminds her children of the Golden Rule, so it has become important in their world to treat others as they wish to be treated. Isabella insisted the letter be mailed right away and ran to get an envelope for it. They mailed it out that afternoon. That very night there was a report about Bush and the war on TV (as usual)--and Isabella was in the other room. When she heard something about Bush and some words that caught her ear, she ran breathlessly into the room and said, "Is that about my letter? Did he get it and stop the war?" Oh, my dearest little Isabella, if only it were that simple! I call her our little earth angel. Perhaps we will be lucky enough to have her for this country's president one day. (~.~)
Months after sending her letter, she finally received a reply from Bush. It was a form letter (natch) and a large photo of Bush and Laura. Jeanie showed her the letter and at first she was excited about it. Jeanie suggested, "Maybe you could take it for Show and Tell in school tomorrow." Isabella asked, "Did he say he's going to stop the war?" Jeanie said, "No." Isabella then said matter-of-factly, "I don't want to take it to school. I'll take a picture of a Chincoteague pony instead." (She loves Chincoteagues.) :-)
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