Remember the photos of newly-elected Obama visiting outgoing the outgoing president, George Bush, at White House? A kind of shorter, used-up, mini-president greeting the tall, new arrival? Well, something similar will happen in 2016. Only this time, outgoing President Obama ain't going anywhere. He's just moving to new digs that have already been built, powered, and furnished.
The campaign left President Obama with a very good problem. He'd assembled a sophisticated campaign apparatus, including organizing tools and a database with information on millions of supporters, but to be of any use it must be maintained. The Obama team couldn't decide what to do with it, and there was speculation that they might turn the database over to the Democratic National Committee, as they did in 2009. Hopefully the DNC hadn't started making any plans, because according to the L.A. Times, Obama is planning to turn it into a nonprofit group that will work to achieve his second-term policies. The move is unprecedented... ...Daily Intel
No, really. It's already organized and ready to go.
Jim Messina, the president's 2012 campaign manager, will be the group's national chairmen, and several former campaign and White House officials, including Robert Gibbs and Stephanie Cutter, will be on the board of directors. ...Daily Intel
Fasten seat belts, please.
I wonder whether the NRA will still be around in 2016.The hope is that the operation will work differently with campaign officials running it, and their first order of business comes as no surprise. In an e-mail sent to supporters on Thursday, Messina asked for support on the president's push for tighter gun control. Gibbs also hinted at the group's launch in an MSNBC interview on Wednesday. “The president has the most exciting campaign apparatus ever built. It’s time to turn that loose,” he said. “It’s time to turn that loose for something more than just an election. If the NRA’s got a list, then Obama for America has a bigger list.” ...Daily Intel
