244 PART THREE • insTiTuTions of AmERiCAn GovERnmEnT
When it comes to caring about the presidency,
most people do not need much encouragement.
The president is our most important official. The
president serves as the public face of the govern-
ment and, indeed, of the nation as a whole. Many
people, however, believe the president is such a
remote figure that nothing they can do will affect
what he or she does. That is not always true. On
many issues, your voice—combined, of course, with
the voices of many others—can have an impact.
Writing to the president is a traditional way for citi-
zens to express their opinions. Every day, the White
House receives several thousand letters and other
communications.Why should you care? The president makes
many decisions that directly influence your life. For
example, in 2012 and 2013 many voices began to
raise the question of reforming the nation’s immi-
gration policies. If any changes to immigration
policies were to succeed, they would need strong
support from the president. Immigration might be
a subject on which you have firm opinions.What can you Do? The most tradi-
tional way to communicate with the White
House is by letter. Letters to the president
should be addressed to:The President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20500making a difference
CommuniCATinG WiTH THE WHiTE HousE
Letters may be sent to the First Lady at the same
address. Will you get an answer? Almost certainly. The
White House mail room is staffed by volunteers and paid
employees who sort the mail for the president and tally the
public’s concerns. You may receive a standard response to
your comments or a more personal, detailed response.
You can also call the White House on the telephone
and leave a message for the president or First Lady. The
White House has a round-the-clock comment line, which
you can reach at 202-456-1111. When you call that num-
ber, an operator will take down your comments and for-
ward them to the president’s office.
To find the home page for the White House, type
“white house” into any major search engine. The site is
designed to be entertaining and to convey information
about the president. You can also send your comments
and ideas to the White House using e-mail. Send com-
ments to the president at:
[email protected]
Address e-mail to the vice president at:
[email protected]The White House has an active
Web presence. Here, you see its home page. You
can find information on just about all aspects of
the federal government through this particular
portal. Additionally, you can go to the “contact”
section to e-mail your comments to the president
and to the vice president. Even though both
of those top officials are unlikely to personally
read your e-mails, why is it still important to
communicate with them? (www.whitehouse.gov)Copyright 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.