[Two hundred forty years ago], our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all [people] are created equal.
Abraham Lincoln (edited in brackets)

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for serving us these eight years. Thank you for maintaining your dignity and thereby our national dignity in the face of severe conflict, for exercising restraint, for forging ahead against the odds, and for setting the highest example of American citizenship. You are a man of true courage. On this Independence Day, folks like you make me proud to be an American.

With Gratitude,
Katherine