Dear President Obama #144: Cheese curds – No whey!

Reporter's Note: The President, when he is not handing out hall passes, is taking suggestions from Americans on how to run the country. I, when not loitering in the hall, am writing a letter a day to him.

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/06/11/wisconsin.health.care/art.obamawisconsin.gi.jpg caption="President Obama took his push for health care reform to Green Bay, Wisconsin."]

Tom Foreman | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Dear Mr. President,

Another late night here. I’m working well into the dark following up on both the Holocaust Museum shooting and the Air France crash. But I assume you must be keeping a late schedule too, with the big trip to Wisconsin to push your health care plan. (BTW, that bit with you writing the excuse note for the girl who was missing school was good stuff.) Did you score any cheese curds up there? It’s a wacky food, but kind of fun if you’re in the right mood.

The first time I had some was next door in Minnesota when the Mall of America opened. I was there to cover the whole shindig and someone handed me a plate of these bright yellowish-orange bits of something that looked Styrofoam packing bits. I ate a few then went to interview Charles Schulz, the guy who created the Peanuts comic strip. Then Ray Charles performed, all in the same mall on the same day. True story.

I don’t know if you care about all that, but I feel like I’m watching your travels everyday so I thought I should tell you a bit about mine.

So how did you feel about your reception on the health care swing? I suspect you’re going to be in for a heck of a fight on this one, and I have to give you a little warning; even though you are clearly eager to get this thing done, summer can be a brutal time in DC to tackle such projects. For one thing, it can get really steamy here, and that makes everyone cranky. For another, a lot of your lawmaker pals like to reconnect with their districts when the kids are out of school and they can hit barbeques, company picnics, baseball tournaments, you know..the very kind of grip-and-grin events you wrote about in one of your books.

But really one of the biggest problems, I must say, is us…the media. Summer is slow in the news business here, and it always has been. So while your issue will get plenty of coverage, it will also get more scrutiny than you might expect. Every argument, ever dispute, every bump in the road is going to come under the microscope.

Anyway, I was looking out at the Capitol glowing so majestically in the night, and it occurred to me I should mention it before shutting my computer down: Remember this is not Wisconsin, and as much as folks there may want some kind of health care reform, you’ve got plenty of colleagues here with their own ideas about what that means.

Also, did you try to call me early this morning? I was carrying a hose around the side of the house and I thought I heard the phone ringing. Next time leave a message. I’ll call back.

Regards,

Tom

Find more of the Foreman Letters, here.