Obama is calling back his campaign team to take over the 2010 midterms.

[Pirate Smile]

Obama Calls Team From 2008 for Races in Fall

Source: The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama is reconstituting the team that helped him win the White House to counter Republican challenges in the midterm elections and recalibrate after political setbacks that have narrowed his legislative ambitions.
Mr. Obama has asked his former campaign manager, David Plouffe, to oversee House, Senate and governor’s races to stave off a hemorrhage of seats in the fall. The president ordered a review of the Democratic political operation — from the White House to party committees — after last week’s Republican victory in the Massachusetts Senate race, aides said.

In addition to Mr. Plouffe, who will primarily work from the Democratic National Committee in consultation with the White House, several top operatives from the Obama campaign will be dispatched across the country to advise major races as part of the president’s attempt to take greater control over the midterm elections, aides said.
“We are turning the corner to a much more political season,” said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, who confirmed Mr. Plouffe’s role. “We are going to evaluate what we need to do to get timely intelligence and early warnings so we don’t face situations like we did in Massachusetts.”


-snip-
The president summoned Mr. Plouffe to the Oval Office hours before the polls closed in Massachusetts and asked him to assume the new role because of the implications the midterm elections hold. Mr. Plouffe built a reputation in 2008 as a master of the nuts and bolts of campaigns, and will assemble a team to provide unfiltered political information that serves as an early-warning system so the White House and party officials know if a candidate is falling behind.

The day-to-day political operation will be run by James Messina, a deputy White House chief of staff, but Mr. Plouffe will coordinate the effort.

The party is trying to become less reliant on polls conducted by candidates, which can often paint a too-rosy picture of the political outlook. The president’s leading pollster, Joel Benenson, will be among those conducting research for Mr. Plouffe, aides said, along with others who will divide the country by regions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/us/politics/24union.html?src=twt&twt=nytimes

[BrklynLiberal]

1. This may be good news.

Too bad they did not think of this before the MA election.

I hope this is an indication that our President is not going to take more crap from the repukes.

[elleng]

8. or from anyone else, like 'disinterested' 'Dems.'

[bigdarryl]

24. BULLSHIT the bottom line is if health care isn't past before Nov

there all TOASTED

[timeforpeace]

26. Should never have gotten away from the endless campaign. Governing is hard.

[CreekDog]

2. Plouffe is back???

:woohoo:

but Mr. President, get your policies back on track too, especially health care!

[MaineDem]

15. He never went away.

He's been working on behalf of the WH.

[itsrobert]

3. Maybe he should actually do what he promise to do

instead of providing excuses.

[impik]

9. Blah, blah, blah, predictable demagogy

[itsrobert]

20. Blah, blah, blah, predictable response

Blah, blah, blah, predictable

[donheld]

40. Indeed

:thumbsup:

[ananda]

4. It won't work as long as any Dems, including Obama,

govern, speak, or legislate from the right according
to the wishes of the corporate kleptocracy.

[arthritisR_US]

5. ok, and then he can start doing what he campaigned on and stop

cow towing to righteous bigots on the other side. Gee, and maybe even the Democrats could begin standing for something and acting on those beliefs instead of doing nothing. Maybe?

[Catshrink]

6. I've always thought cow tipping was cruel -- but I'm not sure about cow towing.

[impik]

10. Blah, blah, blah, predictable demagogy

[enlightenment]

25. You have no idea what that word means, do you?

It doesn't mean what you seem to think it means. Really. Try looking it up.

[DJ13]

7. Those people should have been in the WH with him all this time

Part of the problems Obama has with the voters is the disconnect from his campaign rhetoric to his actual governance.

Most of them should have followed him into office to provide some much needed continuity.

[xultar]

14. OK so is it his governance or the message about his governance that voters disconnected with

What it seems to me is that he's employing the same team to put the flash in to distract from reality.

I mean Obama dealing with Lieberman, how is a campaign staff going to make that better? By making it sound like something it isn't? Joe needed an ass whooping and Obama didn't give him one. I don't see how the 2008 campaign staff is going to make that happen...though they can make it seem that it happened when it really didn't.

[DJ13]

21. Excellent points

It does look like a diversion at this point.

[MadBadger]

38. Plouffe has a little boy and girl and a family that he wanted to be with.

I think that's understandable after he had to be on the road for so long away from his family

[elleng]

11. To those who complain about what the President should have done,

etc., try to keep in mind that he may have thought having a 'Dem' House and Senate would help him to accomplish his major goals. It didn't much, remember???

[HillGal]

12. Well since elections are now decided by independents they need to get on the ball and that means

JOBS JOBS JOBS! The unemployment rate can't go above 11%.

[Parker CA]

13. I think this is good news. I'm curious to see how it plays out and influences Obama beyond 2010. nt

[IndianaGreen]

16. Let's not stop there, let's focus the agenda to jobs and the economy

and let's have the President take a leadership role rather than leaving Congress to its own devices.

[xultar]

17. This doesn't sound like it is such good news. All it shows is that he's gonna

put the Wizard back in charge of Oz.

We are going to be told a bunch of bullshit that will cover what is really going on. Is that what y'all want? More of the "SHOW" that won you over or some real stuff?

[Peregrine Took]

19. Agreed. Campaigning is a whole lot different than governing.

People are sick of the b.s. of the former.

[phleshdef]

23. Completely wrong. Campaigning is an enormous part of governing.

President Obama should have went this path much sooner. His campaign machine packs just the right punch to get people on the ground motivated enough to the right kind and amount of pressure on members of Congress and the Senate to actually pass bills the bills to his desk that fulfill the campaign promises. All this "be LBJ" and threaten to shut down air force bases and crooked, shady BS like that are not the way to govern. Taking the agenda to the people and getting them to MAKE the legislative branch of government comply is the right way to go.

[xultar]

27. Have you heard about the shit he is allowing theFBI to do? no amount of campaigning

is gonna make that shit right...
or the drone attacks he is continuing
he didn't put Joe Liebberman in his place, campaigns don't make that shit right...they cover that shit up or the put perfume on it so it doesn't stink as much.

[Dinger]

36. Rec For Reply

:thumbsup:

[femrap]

18. Obama's words of 'change'

and 'yes we can' are just WORDS. When will his actions match his campaign promises?

Maybe Plouffe can come up with another little cheer....'Yes we Fight.'

I don't think Obama knows how to FIGHT....even though he used the word 12 times in his speech yesterday in Lorrain, Ohio.

Obama needs to pick sides: Corporations/Wall Street or Working People. Every job outsourced will cost the corporation a stiff fee. Stick that onto your bottom line, you greedy buttwipes.

[HopeOverFear]

30. Just because he's not fighting the way you would, doesn't mean he's not fighting

sorry.

[quantass]

22. Hire Howard Dean too (if he isn't too sore being kicked to the road)

Dean is pretty damn good and although i wish he could have his old seat back i think his presence anywhere in this operation is invaluable.

[Beaverhausen]

28. absolutely correct.

[YvonneCa]

32. Agreed. Completely. (Sorry Gov. Kaine). n/t

[Ildem09]

37. His Greatness the Rahm will not allow Dean anywhere near the team

They are Loathe of each other. though I'm pretty sure most of it comes from Rahm. who had serious doubts about Dean's plans in 06'.. but then again Rahm was friends with Terry Maculife

[ProgressOnTheMove]

29. The policy has to meet the campaign promises that simple an executive order to overturn DADT...

pass health care reform get it out the door and pledge to amend it once it's passed and that will help a lot. I mean why are they making it harder than it it really is? I'd do the executive order a little nearer November. THen pledge to get it done if the Congress expand in legislation. The GLBT community are vital for elections, they are wealthy as few family commitments mean they work harder so by any candidates side you can move mountains. The ticking everyone off strategy is not working, he gets it in war it working domestically you need allies.

[Cha]

31. Good Mr President.. Keep those teabags

out of our government..there's way too many already.

[robinlynne]

33. guess what. Howard Dean is the man who made the election possible.

fire Rahm. Beg Dean to take his place, and all will be better in the universe.

[lynne]

34. Let's hope the campaign team can fix the economy. The elections will fix themselves -

- if the economy improves substantially. If the economy doesn't improve, no campaign team on the planet will make any difference. The key is the economy.

[Top Cat]

35. This is great news...

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. Hey! I know! Let's get the old band back together for one last gig!

Tens of hundreds of people follow The Greatful Dead around.

Tens of hundreds of people follow other "classic rock bands of the 70's" around as well.

Tens of hundreds of people fooled into nostalgic remembrances of what was...

With the events of the last year, bringing back the original casts of Mama's Place, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and The Waltons would be just as successful. No one's buying it again. I take that back. Tens of hundreds might, they just might.