Dick Durbin: “almost a year ago exactly I met with a remarkable woman. She was wise, gracious, and funny, but I think what struck me…”

“almost a year ago exactly I met with a remarkable woman. She was wise, gracious, and funny, but I think what struck me the most about her was her idealism. Cassandra Quin Butts believed in the revolutionary promise on which our Nation was founded; that all men and women are created equal. She spent her entire working life trying to expand that premise. On the day we met, her nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas had been blocked for more than a year for reasons entirely unrelated to her qualifications. That did not make her cynical. It did not diminish her desire to serve. She just wanted to know if there was anything she could do to help. It was typical. Cassandra Butts asked the question, How can I help? Sadly, Ms. Butts will never receive the vote she deserved on her nomination to be Ambassador. She died over a week ago at the far-too- young age of 50. She felt ill for a few days, had seen a doctor, and died peacefully in her sleep before learning of her diagnosis, acute leukemia. Cassandra Butts was a longtime friend of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Ms. Butts and the future President met during their first days of Harvard Law School in the financial aid office. Neither one of them came from families that could simply write checks for tuition. In a statement mourning her passing, the President and First Lady remembered Ms.…”