A Witness to History, in a Small Way

Friday, July 24, 2026

This is a nice little story.

Posted by A_Friend at 01:49 PM | 3 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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snip ...

Back when he was president, Barack Obama got an average of 40,000 letters a day. He would have his staff pick 10 per day for him to answer personally, and would spend time each day taking care of that task. Among the many letters he got, and responded to, was one from a 7-year-old named Emily Smith, who wrote to the then-president to tell him that her mother, who had supported him, had recently died of cancer. Obama responded with this handwritten note:

#1 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-07-24 01:53 PM | Reply

snip ...

As chance would have it, Emily Smith's original letter was chosen as part of an exhibit at the newly unveiled Obama presidential library. And Obama did a TV hit with the Today show to talk about the library. As part of the Obama appearance, the Today staff tracked down the now-24-year-old Smith, and asked her to record a video message. You can see that part of the interview here

#2 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-07-24 01:56 PM | Reply

snip ...

It's only 90 seconds, but for those who don't care to watch, Smith says that Obama's letter helped inspire her to pursue a career in nursing, and that is how she is employed today. And Obama was visibly touched by her response.

We trust that the relevance of this story to modern-day politics is clear, and that we do not need to spell it out.

Have a good weekend, all! (Z)

#3 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-07-24 01:57 PM | Reply