
The transition question: ‘What’s the most encouraging thing he’s found in his years in D.C.?’ he was asked. ‘The number of members who are strong (Christian) believers,’ he answered. He said members are among the smartest people in the world with world-class skills in many different disciplines. But that makes them very competitive in any discussion involving expertise. ‘Where I’ve connected with them is on the character and faith side,’ he said, explaining that a number of members meet each morning for Bible study. He said he himself has ‘a running conversation with the Lord’ on spiritual matters related to issues with which he deals. Bipartisan breakthrough?
In an inspirational answer to a young high school audience member, he concluded that only in this county can a person rise from humble beginnings in a home with an outhouse, to a home in the White House. But, he said, each has to take responsibility for his/her own participation in that dream. ‘It’s your world. You live in it. You inherit it. You must make it better,’ he said.
The event, hosted by the Blount County-Oneonta Chamber of Commerce, was sponsored by the law firm of King, Green, and Dobson.
–Ron Gholson