President Barack Obama will begin spending “a day in the life” with Americans who have written letters.
The White House says the idea came together after Obama read a letter from a Minneapolis mother who wrote to him about the struggles in her life.
He decided to travel to Minneapolis to spend time in her shoes. He will spend the day with her, meet her family and neighbors and host a town hall.
“When Rebekah, a hardworking mom from Minneapolis, wrote in to share how much harder it's become to get ahead and do right by her family, you can bet the President set that letter aside for a reply,” Obama senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer wrote in an email to supporters Tuesday.
Each day, the White House sorts through thousands of letters. Every night, Obama reads 10 of them. Some people write to talk about his decisions or ask a question about a policy. Others write in to say hello.
Each letter, Pfeiffer says is a chance for Obama to hear directly from folks across the country about the sorts of issues they face every day.
“I know the President is excited to talk with her -- and Americans like her. So all this summer, he'll meet with folks who've written in to share what their lives are like. He'll be hitting the road and traveling to communities across the country -- sitting around diner booths and kitchen tables to talk about the issues that matter to them,” Pfeiffer wrote.
“Rebekah's story is representative of the experiences of millions of Americans: Even though our economy's made a historic comeback, too many middle-class Americans are still stretched too thin, and there's more work to do.”