Obama Letter Writer Hopes It Starts 'Conversation'
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota woman whose letter to President Barack Obama led to one-on-one time with him says she hopes the message about middle-class struggles isn't lost on Washington decision-makers.
Rebekah Erler, of St. Anthony, shared lunch Thursday with Obama during his two-day trip to Minnesota and had a chance to tell him about economic difficulties facing average Americans. Erler told reporters that she "got a chance to start a conversation" about problems families encounter daily.
Obama's efforts to raise the federal minimum wage and reshape student loan programs have stalled in Congress, and he is aiming to refocus public attention on those issues.
Erler says the experience was "an incredible opportunity to share what's important to me and my friends and my family and what we go through every day."
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