My Fifteen Minutes of Fame With President Obama

By Patty

I had my fifteen minutes of fame on Wednesday when I attended President Obama’s speech on health care. I was able to ask the president my question of choice on the issue. My question was this: What current long-term social program created and run by the government should we look to as a model of success and one that we as taxpayers should be confident that a new government-run health care system would be better than the current system in place? In other words, what are you going to do differently?

The president was genuinely concerned about my question. He looked me directly in the eye and even allowed me a follow-up question. I was really impressed when he approached me at the end of the meeting and assured me that any tax increases I would see as a result of health care reform would be offset by the tax credits I would receive. I told the president I would hold him to this, shaking my finger in the meantime, and he shook his finger right back, saying that he would be accountable. From this exchange the now "famous" New York Times front page photo was born. I assure you, I was not disciplining the president. We really were having a good conversation and laughing. I think he is extremely charismatic and I understand the passion that people have toward him. I really do believe that he is concerned about health care reform and the American people.

I don’t want to be presumptuous, but rather than having a beer with the president, I would like to sit down and have a glass of my favorite pinot grigio with him to talk about some of the fears that small business owners have regarding health care reform. I would love to give him a few public relations tips to help him sell health care reform to the American public. As Sue Stock of the News & Observer mentions in her .biz blog post, I will be sure to avoid wearing white another if chance to meet with Mr. President comes after Labor Day.