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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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 ANALYSIS 
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Obama Army's New Mission: Pass the Budget

Prez calls on legion of campaign supporters, but will they follow?

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(Newser) – Four months after propelling Barack Obama to victory, his millions-strong army of volunteers is being asked to help out again, writes Jeff Zeleny in the New York Times. Anyone who contributed $5 or more to the campaign has been enlisted to support Obama's effort to pass his 2010 budget, which faces an uphill battle in Congress. But it's unclear whether the volunteers who stumped in 2008 will join this new, less glamorous effort.

This weekend Obama supporters are being urged to go door-to-door to convince doubters of his plan's merit, a move some former campaign staffers dismissed as a PR stunt. And Democrats on Capitol Hill, who don't unanimously back the Obama budget, wonder if having supporters complain to Congress members contradicts the president's avowals of bipartisanship. "There will be some trial and error," admits Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

President Barack Obama walks with, from left, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND, Budget Director Peter Orszag, and House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt Jr, D-SC.
President Barack Obama walks with, from left, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND, Budget Director Peter Orszag, and House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt Jr, D-SC.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
President Barack Obama makes remarks after meeting with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington.
President Barack Obama makes remarks after meeting with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
President Barack Obama walks with his Budget Director Peter Orszag, right, as they leave the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Tuesday, March 17, 2009.
President Barack Obama walks with his Budget Director Peter Orszag, right, as they leave the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Tuesday, March 17, 2009.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington.
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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The weekend organizing drive raises a question that Mr. Obama will face going forward: Can the insurgent-style movement of changing Washington still be effective an message if you are controlling the levers of government? -

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2 comments
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prowlerzee
Mar 18, 09 9:20 AM CDT
The Omessiah is trying to start a cult? What will YOU tell any Obama's Witnesses who show up at your house? Reply
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radnip
Mar 19, 09 4:40 AM CDT
Pass the budget: Bail out the middle class, poor, kids and the sick. Why should bailouts be limited to the rich and Wall Street fat cats? Reply
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