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John, When I was seven years old, I got a book called “Mr. President” about all of the great leaders of our past. I still have that book. Growing up in a small apartment as the son of struggling immigrant parents, I never imagined I’d meet a president, much less work in the White House. Today, on Presidents’ Day, I’d like to share the lessons I learned in that time — and how those experiences shape how I’ll fight for Arizona.
Though my job was to advise the Presidents I worked with, the truth is I learned a lot more from them than whatever good or bad advice I gave them. I started my career in public service working in the Clinton White House — joining the administration right after college. I learned from Bill Clinton that progress is possible. That doesn’t mean it is easy. I’m not sharing any secrets here to let you know that Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich were not best buddies. But they worked together, across party lines, they compromised to get things done, and were able to balance the budget for the first time in 30 years and run a budget surplus. We accomplished this milestone while helping to create millions of new jobs, bringing health care to eight million kids, and expanding college aid for working families.
My White House colleague in the background here, Elena Kagan, is still doing important work I also worked with Vice President Al Gore (who would have been president but for Republicans on the Supreme Court) to sound the alarm on the issue we were calling “global warming.” Seeing Gore wage a courageous and sometimes lonely struggle for action on the climate crisis taught me to never back down from what’s right when there’s a need for real change.
Vice President Gore would ask tough questions because it was so important to get things right When Vice President Gore ran for president in 2000, I led the drafting of the Democratic Party Platform, and then, in 2008, I worked with President Barack Obama to write his campaign policy plan, Change We Can Believe In. In meetings with policy experts, I watched as he worked hard to understand their points of view — even if he ultimately disagreed. He thought there was something he could learn from everyone. From President Obama, I was reminded of the lesson that the decisions made in Washington aren’t abstract and not just for political show, they affect the lives of millions of people.
President Obama is an incredible listener who learns from everyone he speaks with I’m sharing these stories on Presidents Day because we’re in unprecedented times. Extremism is threatening our freedoms. I’m running for Congress because, as I learned working with these leaders, to make our democracy work, we can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: In your service, Andrei |
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