Story by Marc Glass; photo by Brett Benson

Kelley Smith ’07 says it’s a privilege to read—over and over and over again—the same three words: Dear Mr. President.

As an analyst in the White House Correspondence Office, Smith carefully pores over a share of some 40,000 e-mail messages, faxes, and letters sent daily to President Barack Obama. And although most missives begin with the same salutation, what follows is as diverse as those who write from every walk of American life: heartbreaking stories of the economic downturn, opinions about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and even notes of encouragement for a job well done. To stay connected with his constituents, President Obama begins each day by reading 10 such letters, a representative sample culled by Kelley’s boss, the head of White House Correspondence.



“The overall goal is that the President and the Administration hear the voice of the American people to get a sense of what people care about,” says Smith. “It’s important to the President that we’re not an administration that cares about 51 percent of the population. We’re interested in hearing about the entire country and everyone’s point of view.”

Smith often mentions “honor” and “responsibility” when talking about his job. When asked about what one wears to work in the Executive Office of the President, he prefaces his answer (a suit and tie) by saying, “We dress befitting the work we’re doing.” And Kelley’s respect for witnessing the thoughts and concerns of the citizenry is personal.

“I wrote George Bush four years ago about the war in Iraq,” he explains. “I received a letter back. It was important to me to know my voice was heard.”

Prior to his Executive Office appointment, Smith put 65,000 miles on his car during 16 months of campaigning for the eventual Democratic Presidential nominee. He worked as a field organizer in rural Ohio and Kentucky, coordinated housing and other logistics for campaign volunteers in South Carolina, served as “surrogate scheduler,” managing the docket for everyone but “the principal and the principal’s wife” (then Senator Obama and wife Michelle) in Illinois, and was the campaign’s director of operations in Maine, with responsibility for budget management and payroll. Smith, a highly skilled lensman, even worked as an official campaign photographer, traveling with Obama to document his appearances in New Hampshire.

“It was kind of cool to come back full circle,” says Smith, who finished a seven-state tour of campaign work in Farmington, bringing Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean to speak at UMF in October 2008. Unlike many who tirelessly campaigned, Smith experienced no sense of withdrawal on November 5.

“I went from working 80- to 120-hour weeks during the campaign to working 80- to 120-hour weeks preparing for the inauguration,” he says.

And Smith says Jim Melcher, associate professor of political science, is the reason he’s now in Washington, D.C.

“I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t taken his practical politics course,” says Smith, who majored in history and political science at UMF. “For me, it was Barack or bust in the political world. I felt for a really long time that I wanted to work for him because of what he stood for. But I never thought I would wind up in the Executive Office. I have to pinch myself sometimes.”