I’d been pondering what to say to Robert Mueller for months. We were going to be at an event together and I hoped I’d have a chance to meet him. What should I ask him? I’d been muellering it over and nothing jumped out at me. While I was dying to know a range of things both about his investigation and his life in general, I imagined (correctly) that I both wouldn’t have much time to talk to him and that I didn’t want to come off either as a rabid fan or political ideologue etc. I had thought about polling friend of Facebook about what to say, but the idea seemed a tad crass or braggadocios to me, so I kept it under my hat (until now).
Finally the time came and there he was in person! At an opportune time when he was by himself, I summoned up some conviction and extended my hand to introduce myself. After I brief introduction, I said the only thing that really seemed appropriate to say to this man at a first time meeting with little context, “I just want to thank you for your service to our country and say how much I appreciate what you’ve done.”
Unsurprisingly, he was humble and politely thanked me. To my surprise, he asked some casual questions about me and my background before we parted ways. In trying to process this brief introduction for nuggets of either wisdom or just observations, one piece does crystalize for me. Mueller is a genuinely nice and respectful person who instinctively serves and thinks of others.