If I had a chance to stand before the president, I would simply say:
I have one favor to ask. I trust you. I respect you. With that, I ask that you continue to listen to the voice that got you here, the conscience inside you, built and solidified through the years, that convinced you things could be better and you could help to make them so.
I ask that you continue to trust yourself, to trust that voice deep inside, when the business that is Washington tries to change you, tries to tell you no. I ask nothing for myself individually. If you tell me I need to endure hardship for a period in order that the country, our country, can recover, convalesce, I will do so with a smile, knowing we are moving forward, knowing that though the hill may seem steep, I am moving. There is hope to be found in moving uphill when for so long one feels he has been dragged down. There is hope to be found in feeling one may actually have some control over what lies ahead. I can choose to move uphill, step by step, inch by inch if needed; I can choose. And I will if you tell me that is what the country needs. Hope will fuel me. My tank has been empty for so long.
I will work for you because I know you work for me; I will work for us because I know you work for us. All I ask of you is to keep your head up. You have many supporters around you, but so many more who will fight you, fight this movement called hope and change. There are so many who will try to prick the balloon of hope we inflate together.
I am not so naive as to believe that hope, however strong, is an end in itself. Hope is only the fuel, the fuel that can propel us forward, to take that extra step, to make that extra push. Without hope, the tank is empty; death all that awaits. With hope, the blind is raised on a new day. The sun may not stream in brightly, not initially, but one can see it there, just out of reach, through the parting clouds. And with that knowledge, one is able to continue.
You, Mr. President, have offered me hope, and I accept. I only ask that you stay strong. Many will oppose you, afraid of losing their power. They can’t see that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and with too many weak links we will never be able to pull together as one. We can succeed together or fail separately. We truly can be united, but it is a choice we each have to make, each willing to do what is needed to make it happen. I trust you, Mr. President. I simply ask that you continue to trust yourself.
I will not agree with every decision you make, but I do trust that if I had the same information as you, I would make the same decision. I trust and respect you. I only ask that you continue to trust yourself. Thank you.
