It is with sadness and regret that I tell you this: Glenn Smith will not be speaking at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner tonight. His older brother, Mack, died in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, and the funeral is today. Glenn, always the most generous of men, wrote me a touching e-mail -- in the midst of his terrible grief -- expressing his dismay at disrupting our plans.
I hastened to reassure him, and to offer him the condolences of all of us.
Glenn had written the most extraordinary speech to deliver tonight. I asked for a copy to post here, and I encourage everyone to read it -- to study it, in fact. It is rich in information, in humanity, in profound political and personal observation.
The title of his speech is "Do Americans Believe in the Wisdom of the Public? The Promise of Popular Democracy." After reading it you will be eager to meet Glenn, to bask in his warmth and to explore with him the propositions he puts forward -- the products of a huge intellect and a huge heart. You will surely want to incorporate those propositions into your own thinking, and take action on them now.
I have promised Glenn, and I promise you: we will make sure to give us all, later in the year, that opportunity.
Our prayers are with Glenn and his family.
