Received via e-mail:
Something quite extraordinary happened at The White House [on Monday, June 25]. It was covered in the news, but barely. The lack of media attention doesn’t diminish the uniqueness of the occurrence however.
Yesterday, the 2007 Presidential Scholars were received and welcomed at the White House. It’s quite a remarkable collection of young adults. Each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were represented by one male and one female high school senior selected for this honor. It would have been quite a brain trust assembled to be addressed by the President of the United States at the event. But that’s not what was extraordinary.
Although it was not officially part of the ceremony, one of the Presidential Scholars handed George W. Bush a letter. The letter was brief, to the point, and criticized our continued involvement in Bush’s needless war. The letter encouraged him to realize his policies were failing and bring an end to the quagmire he helped create. The letter was signed by the individual who presented it to Bush. The letter was also signed... by every single 2007 Presidential Scholar! George W. Bush paused to read the letter, set it aside, and went on with his pre-scripted speech.
The 2007 Presidential Scholars were there representing blue states and red states. We can only assume some were Democrats, some Independents, and certainly some Republicans. The 100% consensus of the entire group was detailed in the letter to the president. Perhaps it can have some impact in providing George W. Bush with a dose of reality outside of his bubble. If so, we’ll have a group of teenagers, a remarkable group of teenagers, to thank for it.
Correction: according to this article, the letter requested that Guantanamo detainees be treated humanely.
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