7/20/2023

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            As I write this AM, my daughter is chauffeuring my 89-year-old mom from the East Coast to Northern, WI. I hope they arrive at their destination happy & whole. I will be joining them on Sat for some fun in the woods.

            Speaking of fun, did you have a good time at the picnic yesterday? My quick look at Twitter suggests that you spent the whole evening posing for photos with various Congress people & their families, including my Rep. Mike Thompson & his nephew. It’s too bad that my senators Feinstein & Padilla weren’t there. I appreciated your message that we are all friends!

Perhaps you were persuaded by Celinda Lake & Mac Heller’s op-ed piece in the WP to avoid “language & style from the unmitigated male id of “Never Back Down” & “Where Woke Goes to Die” to words of community, stewardship, sharing and collaboration.” As you will recall they were making the point that the 2024 voters will be quite different from those in 2016. Gen Zs are more inclined to vote than previous generations of young folx, so you need to “make your messages short, funny, somehow sarcastic yet authentic & earnest at the same time.”

Kids that age can get enticed to vote for 3rd party candidates. When I was under 30, I voted for Perot & then Nader, but our democracy was not on the line. I hope today’s younger voters realize that a vote for the No Labels party could doom us all. They feel “ignored, powerless & marginalized” so please do more to appeal to them. Your attention to wind energy during your Philly visit today is a step in the right direction. Taking the train rather than flying in AF1 would be even better!

            Did you contact anyone in Burma to acknowledge Martyr’s Day? When one of your people speaks with the NUG, let them know that they need more women in their cabinet.

            BYBS,