Obama Plots Outside Game To Leave Washington, Add Pressure On Lame-Duck Congress

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is preparing to expand the fiscal cliff fight beyond the confines of Washington, travelling the country and leaning on Democratic activist groups to help apply political pressure.

The goal, organizers said, is to keep engaged the activists and followers who have stood with Obama through two campaigns, and to begin applying external pressure to the president's negotiations with congressional Republicans.

And so, top Obama operatives are gaming out ways to squeeze political capital out of the 2012 elections, aiming to affect the lame-duck session in Congress. Obama previewed the strategy in a conference call with activists after the election, saying that a second term that will include some barnstorming across the country.

"One of my pledges for a second term is to get out of Washington more often," Obama said.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/obama-outside-game-lame-duck_n_2162357.html

[Trajan]

1. Yes .... The President is 'plotting', and 'playing games' ....

Like every butthead President would do ... right ? ... right ?

Who's with me ? ! ! ! !

[TPaine7]

11. Every president, without exception, has plotted and played political games.

The only issue was whether it would be President Obama or President Romney.

I, for one am glad that, given the choice we had, it's Obama who's plotting and playing games. The fact that he is plotting to use the power of the people to achieve their will on tax policy disturbs me not at all.

[Cha]

12. Right! The evil villian President of the United States is plotting

to bust the republicon teabagger House wide open with the help of We The People

This should help with Mid Terms, too.. 2 years is right around the corner.

[sigmasix]

2. formal title is PRESIDENT Obama

Right wingers and dismissive MSM are always dropping the "president" part of his formal title as an unspoken attempt at trivializing and insulting the president of the United States. Huff post is big on calling the POTUS "Mr."
Ariana will always be a little too elitist to deserve real trust from progressives.

[freshwest]

3. He's 'plotting' by announcing he's organizing the troops for the agenda he was elected for?

The bashing of this President is never going to stop from the right or the left. He's doing exactly what he needs to do, organizing for changing things for the better but it's never good enough.

[SoapBox]

4. Agreed.

[BlueCaliDem]

5. I've noticed, freshwest, and I agree.

:sigh:

*edited to remove "banana" - was trying something out.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

17. +1. I'm farther left than the President, but I am extremely happy with his job performance...

I learned early on in life that you don't always get what you want when you want it and how you want it.

[Journeyman]

6. Perfectly acceptable to refer to him as "Mr Obama" in a news report. . .

AP Stylebook. In effect since 1953. "President (Full Name)" on 1st mention, "Mr. (Last Name)" in subsequent references.

(And this is the way it's presented in the linked Huffington Post article cited in the OP.)

Also, it's been acceptable for decades -- centuries, even -- to refer to a President by his last name or simply his title in the headline of a story. There's limited space in a headline, and far more at stake than propriety in the development of the reader's interest.

And lest you think the AP stylebook "too recent," most of what it codified were standards that had been in effect for decades previous to its publication.

[Wednesdays]

29. "Dewey Defeats President Truman"

Oh, wait...

[Hosnon]

7. It's standard to use the full title the first time followed by just the last name.

Which is what the author did. No big conspiracy here.

[sigmasix]

10. title of article: "Obama plots..."

i understand the rules of formal writing and dissertation. No conspiracy was mentioned- I simply pointed out a fact that many people have talked to me about and that I have seen in the MSM and RWM over the last 4 years. Even the title of this article refers to the POTUS by his last name. I can understand the desire for being consise in journalism, but adding "pres." to the title would only entail the addition of 5 more characters. disrespect, even when hidden within the semantics of journalism, is still disrespect. This certainly isn't any sort of conspiracy theory that I am suggesting,(wouldnt some right wing freak love to make the claim that the president's respect problems from the right wing media are all some sort of wild-eyed liberal conspiracy! While in reality this all boils-down to just a lack of respect for this president on the part of some journalists and thier owners. Maybe Huff-post isnt as blatant in this peice as they have been in the past, but I have read several articles from that site with lots of "Mr. Obama" title lines.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

8. "dropping the 'president' part" is "attempt at trivializing and insult"? Ever hear of "I like Ike"?

Was that said to trivialize him? Was that said to insult him?

[lunatica]

16. That was a slogan used during his Presidential campaign

Maybe you didn't know that. But once he became President people didn't refer to him as I like Ike Eisenhower when referring to him. He was still President Eisenhower.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

21. Maybe I "didn't know that"? I shook hands with him when he came to Chicago. I'm a Daley cousin.

[lunatica]

24. Sorry about that

I didn't mean offense. And congratulations on shaking hands with Ike!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

28. No problem,

but I'm now remembering my age.

[lunatica]

15. That's why I try very hard to always include the title when I'm

writing or talking about President Obama. But I still keep it editorially correct by referring to him as Obama when continuing to refer to him in the same op. But the first reference always includes his title.

[RC]

20. Trying to derail the message in the OP, are we?

Typing out "President Obama" on Democratic Underground, where there are thousands of members too lazy to even type out whole words and so they use capital letter abbreviations so often some post becomes unreadable? Where "Barrack Obama" becomes "BHO". The 'H' being forced because using just 'BO' is too obviously for something else? Cities become NO or SA. Whole phrases become just the first letters of the words. For instance, "MHALL", instead of "Mary Had a Little Lamb". And we are all assumed to understand the poster, just because the poster knows?

There is noting wrong with using just "Obama" when referring to the person. It is the context a name is used in that matters.
Hilary is OK, but Obama isn't? "Bill" or "Clinton" was fine on DU for "President William Jefferson Clinton" So why not just use "Obama" for ... Obama? It is easy to pronounce and spell. There is no disrespect on DU for using just the presidents last name. Context again.
Besides, consistency is too much to ask on DU. There are too many members, with too many different points of view. A point some cliques around here have trouble understanding, with their drive to have everyone else conform to their version of what DU should be.

[1StrongBlackMan]

22. I have long noticed this ...

right wingers, the dismissive MSM and DUers, too.

I make a practice of preceding any use of the word (President) "Obama" with the word "President" ... even if in parenthasis.

[Blasphemer]

32. You are correct that this can be a right wing ploy

They used to do it to Bill Clinton as well. Bob Dole made it a point to always refer to him as "President" because he did not agree with those tactics. However, as noted above, I don't think any malice was intended here.

[patrice]

9. FIGHT Congress!

[cyclezealot]

13. We've received our messages from progressive groups.

and made our phone calls and sent letters. One aspect of these messages... ( yes we did give our donations during the campaign and will again.) But, each message receives another call to donate . Over and over , maybe We receive 6-10 messages a day to donate to some organization..
I know they need money , but there are limits. If you have donated generously , how much more can the average person give.? .
The point , this turns some people off , when it comes time to do something. Not us but some people..
. If only we'd followed the request. "Make me do it." as first asked of Americans by FDR; back in 2009, maybe we'd had a better ObamaCare .

[Justice]

14. should be Obama takes case to American people cuz Congress not doing job

[SHRED]

18. The question remains...

...will the President cave and cut into Medicare, SS, and Medicaid much like he caved with his lack of support for labor (Wis and card check) and the public option during the health debates?


--

[Liberalynn]

19. The activist groups should say

absoultely no cuts to SS and Medicare beneficiaries and no raising of the retirement age as a condition of their assitance in this matter. JMHO.

I applaud the President's strategy in asking their help though. Its a good step in the "left" direction.

[Change has come]

23. K & R

[mucifer]

25. So President Barack Obama is listening to Sen Bernie Sanders!

He has been suggesting for a while that this is what The President should do.

[tridim]

26. He's Super-President

[Milliesmom]

27. Just seen on Rev. Al.

http://www.theaction.org/

President Obama needs our help.

[John2]

30. The

third elephant in the room are media pundits trying to de legitimize the President's base. The President's utmost responsibility is to the voters that put him in office. The voters that put him in office did give him a mandate in the election. Social Security and Medicare were also discussed. Nobody talked about cutting either. In fact they ran away from it and pointed fingers at each other cutting it. Vice President Biden even put it out there in his Debate about who do you trust. Everyone of the candidates promised not to throw Grandma off the cliff.

This will settle it once and for all. The Republicans want to cut those programs. The Democrats now have them out in the open. Now they talk about these red states and targeting Democrats. All the Democrats has to do is make this backfire once and for all. Do as Sanders says. The decision for people in those red states is cut your benefits versus the wealthy tax cuts. Your tax cuts versus the wealthy tax cuts. Take the issue and tie it around the Republicans neck. They are for protecting the wealthy and the Democrats are for protecting programs that benefit you. Use the ex plainer in chief if you have to. The issue is more simplified for voters to understand. It cuts through the race baiting by the Republicans also instead of claiming other people are taking your stuff.

[Canuckistanian]

31. If he wants popular support for this

He'd better lay off making noises supporting ANY cuts in social programs.

Because the American public just overwhelmingly voted to REJECT those cuts.

It's time to play hardball with conservatives. Elections have consequences.