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| Reeling Obama Turns to Plouffe for Help | |
| 2010-01-24 | |
| David Plouffe, who led Barack Obama's winning campaign for the White House, will play a larger role in advising the president as reeling Democrats try to rally in this important election year. Plouffe's primary job on behalf of the White House will be to devise, coordinate and analyze strategies for the House, Senate and governor's races in November, according to an administration official.
The timing is significant because Democrats, just one year after Obama came into office, are the ones on the defensive now. The upset victory by Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts in claiming the seat long held by Democrat Edward Kennedy embodied a national sense of frustration in the economy and Washington's ability to fix it. Obama has bemoaned a public sense of detachment from what he's been trying to accomplish, and now Senate Democrats have lost the 60-vote bloc they need to overcome Republican opposition to Obama's health care plan. So re-emerging is Plouffe. The administration official said Plouffe always was going to play a larger role at some point after finishing his campaign book, but a change in the political environment accelerated the timetable. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal decision-making, said no one at the White House was in line to be demoted because of Plouffe's arrival. Obama asked Plouffe to get more involved. Even before the polls closed in the special election to succeed Kennedy, who died in August, the president called Plouffe to the White House to talk. The next day, Plouffe said that Brown's victory was not a repudiation of Obama's agenda, as Republican leaders suggested. He expressed some outspoken frustration, though, about the effort by Democratic candidate Martha Coakley, saying "even a mediocre campaign in Massachusetts probably would have won." Plouffe (pronounced pluhf) has remained in regular touch with Obama and White House staff, and been an advocate for Obama's health care plans. On the night Obama won election, the candidate hailed Plouffe as an unsung hero and promoted him as the leader of nothing less than the best campaign in U.S. history. Most governor's seats, more than one-third of the Senate, all 435 House districts and state legislatures will be on the general election ballot this year. Democrats must protect far more seats than Republicans, and the political environment is not in their favor. The outcomes could significantly affect Obama's agenda. | |
| Posted by:Chusoling Scourge of the Geats5019 |
| #11 Plouffe has issued his first edict: Plouffe to Dems: No 'bed-wetting' WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Democratic Party campaign strategy manager David Plouffe says now is not the time for "bed-wetting" after the party lost a Massachusetts Senate election. Plouffe, appointed by President Barack Obama to staunch further Democratic losses after Republican Scott Brown last week won the seat once held by the late Edward Kennedy, listed "no bed-wetting" in a Sunday Washington Post opinions piece as among the actions the party must take to recover in time for the 2010 midterm elections. "This will be a tough election for our party and for many Republican incumbents as well," Plouffe wrote. "Instead of fearing what may happen, let's prove that we have more than just the brains to govern -- that we have the guts to govern." |
| Posted by: tipper 2010-01-24 23:13 |
| #10 Pronounce a well rounded "ploo", pause, "f", a longer,considering pause, wait for it, "f". That's how it's done. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2010-01-24 20:02 |
| #9 Maybe he'll bring Van Jones back. Oh, wait...he never left. http://www.obamafailblog.net/2009/12/12409-van-jones-is-still-advising-white.html |
| Posted by: Gomez Threter7450 2010-01-24 14:28 |
| #8 The Peter Principle yet again. When you find yourself over your head and incompetent, revert to your last success, in this case campaigning. This is the key to this whole disaster. Obama is incapable of leading; only campaigning. Where will an endless campaign leave this country? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2010-01-24 13:15 |
| #7 Frank,similar to Gibbs at Fox? That was pretty hysterical. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-01-24 13:15 |
| #6 Valerie Jarrett, Axelrod, and assorted Liars were hitting the mews shows today. They weren't successful. Even David Gregory (D-NBC) couldn't stomach Jarrett's bullshit |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-01-24 13:11 |
| #5 He probably considers this "job creation". |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-01-24 13:09 |
| #4 ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, NPR, AP, Reuters, NYT, WaPo, LAT, etc., etc. not enough? Just one more propagandist will surely do the trick. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-01-24 12:50 |
| #3 Just what you need, Barry. Another spinmeister... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-01-24 12:23 |
| #2 I seem to recall an episode of the TV sitcom "Get Smart" where American indians had gathered together to attack the United States in order to take over. One of the chief's advisors upon realizing the immensity of the task remarked, Green Meadows: Red Cloud, this is bad medicine! The United States has three million soldiers. We have but two hundred braves. Red Cloud: [whispering] We must depend heavily on the element of surprise. Obama and his advisor cannot depend as much on a pliant press and a gullible public for the midterms, but they will, and with predictable results. Obama no longer has the element of surprise. |
| Posted by: badanov 2010-01-24 12:13 |
| #1 Plouffe - pronounced "puff". OK now! Time to start campaigning for 2012! We can do this! (But not much else....) |
| Posted by: KBK 2010-01-24 11:45 |