# NYT: Fascinating, heartbreaking article on the mail that President Obama got every day **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543 "2017-01-19T15:56:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/1 "2017-01-19T15:56:36Z")
> **[To Obama With Love, and Hate, and Desperation (Published 2017)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/magazine/what-americans-wrote-to-obama.html?_r=1)** > > Over eight years, through millions of letters, the staff of the White House mailroom read the unfiltered story of a nation. I can’t help but think presidential correspondence will be handled a lot differently, starting tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/2 "2017-01-19T17:49:07Z")
Great read, thanks for the link! ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/3 "2017-01-19T18:39:42Z")
That is a good read. Some powerful stuff in there. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/4 "2017-01-19T18:47:12Z")
Great read! The last letter they printed, from the daughter of the veteran, made me tear up quite a bit. It’s a part of the White House you never really hear about but it is the part where the people matter most. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/5 "2017-01-19T20:01:01Z")
I read that yesterday and was particularly moved by the letters from the gay man who was married to a career Army man. People’s problems seem so remote until you hear a gut wrenching story like that. I’m sure it was a contributing factor to Obama changing his views on the issues. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/6 "2017-01-19T20:16:11Z")
That was a terrific read, **EH**. Thanks for posting the link! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/7 "2017-01-19T20:23:43Z")
Wow, thank you for the heads-up. 300 volunteers! I just got to the woman with the kidnapped son… ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/8 "2017-01-19T20:31:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I read that yesterday and was particularly moved by the letters from the gay man who was married to a career Army man. People’s problems seem so remote until you hear a gut wrenching story like that. I’m sure it was a contributing factor to Obama changing his views on the issues. Totally. Also this: > [@](#): > > Reeves decided to include inmates in his nightly reading, ending a standard practice among modern administrations of ignoring inmate mail, or forwarding it to the Justice Department without a response from the president. In 2014, when the administration rolled out a Justice Department program offering executive relief to federal prisoners serving long sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, it surprised no one in the mailroom. The president, they were happy to see, was reading the mail. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/9 "2017-01-20T04:32:46Z")
Glad you all liked it. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/10 "2017-01-20T04:42:40Z")
That was crushing to read, yet somehow uplifting. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/11 "2017-01-20T05:01:34Z")
That was an amazing story. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/12 "2017-01-20T05:17:56Z")
I don’t want to be the callous voice of dissent here but you can hear much worse stories at your local hospital or AA meeting. I have no idea what this has to do with Obama because the stories were much worse countless times throughout history and all Presidents have gotten stacks of mail like those. Granted, it is sad but it is called the human condition especially when you are dealing with very large populations. Some of them are going to have terrible stories at any given time no matter what you do. All Presidents get hundreds of heartbreaking letters every day along with countless death threats and incoherent glurge. It is an interesting phenomenon on its own but it has been going on since modern politics began and it has little role in rational public policy. You can chase the clouds of the sad, unfortunate and just plain crazy forever and they will just keep regenerating no matter what you do. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/13 "2017-01-20T05:22:59Z")
After reading this, I feel like I didn’t even fully understand how good we had it these past eight years. It makes me wish I had written him. (My son did, however; scrawled in crayon.) For all his flaws and faults and mistakes, he was a really, really, really good president, IMO, and this story shows a layer most of us never even realized existed. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/14 "2017-01-20T05:27:44Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I don’t want to be the callous voice of dissent here but you can hear much worse stories at your local hospital or AA meeting. I have no idea what this has to do with Obama because the stories were much worse countless times throughout history and all Presidents have gotten stacks of mail like those. Granted, it is sad but it is called the human condition especially when you are dealing with very large populations. Some of them are going to have terrible stories at any given time no matter what you do. > > All Presidents get hundreds of heartbreaking letters every day along with countless death threats and incoherent glurge. It is an interesting phenomenon on its own but it has been going on since modern politics began and it has little role in rational public policy. You can chase the clouds of the sad, unfortunate and just plain crazy forever and they will just keep regenerating no matter what you do. The article is not about the fact that the President receives letters. It’s about what he does with them, what his team does with them, how it affects his team, how it affects the President, and how it is different than years past . Good try on the lecture tho. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/15 "2017-01-20T05:29:11Z")
I don’t think the article is suggesting in any way that these stories CANNOT be found elsewhere. Rather, I think it recognizes very well that many, many people feel all sorts of emotions, including despair, rage, shame, triumph, and all the gamut of emotions you will indeed find at an AA meeting, etc., and that these emotions are also expressed in letters to the President. Nor does the article suggest that Obama’s reading of these letters solved the problems of these people, or that receiving the existence of these letters at all represented some kind of break with the past. There’s no implication whatever that people writing to the president is a new phenomenon. What makes the article fascinating, and what brings it beyond the relatively banal notion that “people have intense emotions” and the somewhat more surpising one that “people share these deepest emotions with the president” is the reality that Obama was in fact quite interested in these stories. The claim is that earlier presidents paid little attention to the letters like this that they received. Obama in contrast wanted to get a sense of what “ordinary people” were thinking about. Reading these letters and responding to them represented a change from the way previous presidents had gone about it, and says something about his priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/16 "2017-01-20T12:34:56Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/magazine/what-americans-wrote-to-obama.html?\_r=1](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/magazine/what-americans-wrote-to-obama.html?_r=1) Wow. That’s one of the best articles I’ve read in a long while. > [@](#): > > I can’t help but think presidential correspondence will be handled a lot differently, starting tomorrow. I hope you’re mistaken. Indeed, I expect you’re mistaken: bureaucracy has a tendency to perpetuate itself. BTW do I recall correctly that there’s a Doper who worked there? Or in a similar capacity in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/17 "2017-01-20T14:06:05Z")
This reads like a propaganda piece. Mr Obama has a reputation ad a distant and disengaged President who didn’t fight nearly hard enough to push his own agenda. From another NYT article: > **[Obama Is Seen as Frustrating His Own Party (Published 2014)](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/aloof-obama-is-frustrating-his-own-party.html)** > > President Obama appears remarkably distant from his own party on Capitol Hill, Democrats there say, leaving him with few loyalists as issues erupt abroad and at home. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/18 "2017-01-20T14:43:55Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/magazine/what-americans-wrote-to-obama.html?\_r=1](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/magazine/what-americans-wrote-to-obama.html?_r=1) > > I can’t help but think presidential correspondence will be handled a lot differently, starting tomorrow. Moving. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/19 "2017-01-20T15:21:27Z")
I shouldn’t have read that in a public place. I’m trying not to tear up. Thanks for sharing it. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543/20 "2017-01-20T15:57:18Z")
I think the idea of a daily word cloud of his emails is possibly the best use of a word cloud I’ve heard of. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-fascinating-heartbreaking-article-on-the-mail-that-president-obama-got-every-day/777543.md?page=2)