The Plouffe Plan That Terrifies Washington

Plouffe book recalls a historic campaign that got lost in transition

(NEWSER) - 'Yes, we can" was the rallying cry of a game-changing campaign that swept Obama to victory on the shoulders of a grass-roots tidal wave one year ago—and President Obama would do well to remember Candidate Obama, writes Arianna Huffington in a lengthy look at David Plouffe's new campaign memoir. The senator whose mantra was change has forgotten his middle-class mandate, and become the president who decided "the American people can only have as much change as Olympia Snowe will allow," she writes. More»

Meeting raises questions about ties to big business

(NEWSER) - Aides to President Obama and Max Baucus met with a variety of lobbyists for corporate health care companies on April 15, to help form two industry coalitions and launch a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, Politico has learned. Though both sides insist no quid pro quo was laid out, some participants say they felt pressured to join the coalitions created at the meeting. “What were we supposed to say? No?” says one attendee. More»

Early-adopting GOP Twitterati more organized, numerous

(NEWSER) - You might assume that Twitter, like most things having to do with the Internet, is dominated by liberals and “netroots” activists. But you’d be wrong, according to Johanna Neuman of the Los Angeles Times. John McCain hit the million-follower mark weeks before the White House did, and he’s not even the most followed conservative. A popular site, Top Conservatives on Twitter, ranks right-wing tweeters and gives conservatives tips on how to organize. More»

(NEWSER) - Now that he’s in office, President Obama is having a lot of trouble mobilizing the grassroots network that helped put him there, the Los Angeles Times reports. With Republican health care opponents operating like a well-oiled, talk-show-fueled machine, Organizing for America (aka Obama for America) is stuttering—in part because its left-leaning members aren’t enthusiastic about Obama’s centrist health care goals. More»

White House correspondence head chooses 10 per day

(NEWSER) - The White House Correspondence Office sorts through tens of thousands of messages daily, and it’s up to its director to select which 10 find President Obama’s desk. But how to choose? “We pick messages that are compelling, things people say that, when you read it, you get a chill,” Mike Kelleher tells the New York Times. “I send him letters that are uncomfortable messages.” More»