Dear Mr. President: An Open Letter from Russell Simmons

However, Mr. President, despite these accomplishments there are still many people who do not want you to succeed and have done everything they can, including dirty media tricks, to stop you from being the President we all want you to be. We will not accept only legislative victories during your presidency, as we know you have a lot more to offer than that.  We will not accept the continuation of the destruction of our planet and the abuse of our animals, as we know you have compassion for for all that is living.  We will not allow you to be any ordinary President, as there is nothing ordinary about you. As it is important to focus your attention on delivering your legislative promises, you must retain a watchful eye on the most vulnerable Americans. We expect you to protect people like Lt. Dan Choi, Shirley Sherrod and Van Jones, even when they might seem like distractions during your efforts to reform our government and policies. It is this compassion that you have for humanity that inspired us all during your campaign. And it is your intellect and strength to stand-up to all of the negative noise that allowed us a victory on election day.

Mr. President, the time has come for Barack Obama to be Barack Obama. When you know things are not right, we expect you to fix them. We have already lost Van Jones. We might lose Shirley Sherrod. Let us not lose Lt. Dan Choi.

If you don’t come out fighting, and take the fight to the right, you’ll not only lose elections, but respectfully, also your soul.

Sincerely,Russell Simmons