Obama's outreach pays
off in first 100 days
By Carla Marinucci and
Joe Garofoli
In his first 100 days as
president, Barack Obama
has marshaled a potent
array of political
weapons to keep himself
at the top of public
opinion polls - a blend
of skillful
communication and
messaging, unprecedented
voter outreach and the
creative use of
technical,
youth-oriented
organizing tools never
before seen in American
presidential politics.
If that arsenal sounds
familiar, it's no
surprise: President
Obama and his team are
reaching for the same
weapons that propelled
candidate Obama's
successful run to the
White House, and they've
gotten quicker on the
draw.
Take the e-mail sent
Tuesday to millions of
Obama supporters from
the president's
political strategist
David Plouffe, who noted
that "a lot of attention
will be given to this
largely symbolic day."
But "the truth is that
what we do every day
after it will be just as
important - if not more
... you built the
movement that made this
possible," Plouffe told
them, "and it's up to
you to show Americans
that real change can
happen when ordinary
citizens work together."
Organizing for America,
the next-generation
political arm of the
Obama presidential
campaign, is also
keeping up the heat by
holding "listening tour"
events across America
this week to bring
supporters together -
and prepare for the next
campaign.
Republican National
Committee Chairman
Michael Steele can
complain all he wants
about "teleprompter"
politics - and the
"permanent campaign" of
the Democratic president
- but in his short time
in office, the 44th
president has used more
than a teleprompter to
keep his poll numbers
high and his public
image burnished.
Obama has managed to
effectively communicate
his message to Americans
with a string of
prime-time news
conferences, an
unprecedented appearance
on the "Tonight" show, a
surprise stop to visit
U.S. troops in Iraq,
town hall meetings,
cavorting with the
family dog and escorting
his elegant wife across
Europe.
Clearly, there's been a
payoff. Poll numbers
A new CNN poll released
this week finds Obama to
be even more popular
than his politics: A
whopping 63 percent of
American voters approve
of the way he is
handling his job - and
75 percent, a number
rarely heard in
presidential politics,
believe he has the
personality and
leadership qualities for
the job.
Yet, far fewer - 57
percent - say they agree
with the president on
the issues that matter
most to them, the CNN
poll found.
Morley Winograd and Mike
Hais, co-authors of
Millennial Makeover:
MySpace, YouTube and the
Future of American
Politics, say
Obama's buoyant numbers
are pegged in large part
to a demographic marker
- his continued appeal
to millions of so-called
"millennial" voters.
"They think he's honest,
straightforward and
transparent. ... They
have not lost any of
their enthusiasm for him
- and they drove the
election in 2008," said
Hais, who notes that the
millennials "accounted
for about 80 percent of
the (Obama) margin over
John McCain," and voted
for Obama by a 2-to-1
ratio.
These younger voters
represent the largest
and most diverse
generation in American
history and are still
the focus of intense
political outreach by
Team Obama, the authors
say.
Yet Obama's success in
maintaining his
popularity and polls in
the critical first
benchmark isn't limited
to the 20- and
30-somethings alone,
veteran political
insiders say.
"America likes him,"
said former California
Gov. Gray Davis,
watching the president's
uncanny ability to walk
the political tightrope
in tough times at home
and abroad. "We're in a
deep hole here, and they
recognize we need
someone with near-heroic
qualities."
Davis notes that Obama
hasn't failed to include
millions of older
Americans - like Davis -
who receive
communications "on an
almost daily basis on
his agenda (regarding)
the need to rally people
around issues." Not
politics as usual
That's a real departure
from traditional
politics, Davis said,
where "most times, after
your candidate is sworn
in, you don't hear too
much from him" until he
or she needs money the
next time.
Former San Francisco
Mayor Willie Brown adds
that a critical key to
Obama's popularity and
public image has been
his leading partner in
the White House - first
lady Michelle Obama, who
has melded family
matters and an engaging
public persona in a
groundbreaking way.
"She's speaking at UC
Merced's graduation,"
Brown said, referring to
the newest of the
University of California
campuses, which is in
the Central Valley, "not
at Brandeis or Wellesley
or Smith," the
traditional East Coast
venues. "She's given
this first lady thing a
whole new activist
tone."
Jean Harris, a professor
of political science at
the University of
Scranton, in
Pennsylvania, agrees
that Michelle Obama has
"put it all together ...
she's been very astute
... in balancing work
and family and community
... while making it
clear that his agenda is
her agenda."
Still, some critics
suggest that in the
first 100 days Obama has
been too much in an
ongoing campaign mode.
"Clearly, there has been
an absence of the way
Reagan established
priorities" during his
first 100 days in
office, said Al
Felzenberg, a professor
of communication at the
University of
Pennsylvania and author
of "The Leaders We
Deserved (and a Few We
Didn't): Rethinking the
Presidential Rating
Game." Ambiguous
priorities
"One day he's talking
about the banking
crisis, the next day
it's the car bailout,
the next day it's the
stimulus, the next day
it's green energy, then
next day it's education.
I can't keep up. In some
ways, it shows a
Clintonesque lack of
discipline. You have to
set priorities. Set some
dates."
But Larry Berman, a
professor of political
science at UC Davis who
teaches a course on
Obama's first 100 days
in office, said the
president has managed a
messaging miracle as
he's "tried to change
the image of Americans"
abroad that were formed
during the Bush
administration.
The groundbreaking
factor remains how Obama
can do it in more venues
- the Internet, social
networking sites such as
YouTube, Facebook and
Twitter - than any past
president ever had at
his fingertips, Winograd
says.
"We're not talking about
an age in which you go
on the radio and 60
percent of the nation
hears you," he said.
"And it's all instilling
confidence. It's a
steady incremental pace.
And when you build
something like that, it
has a much more
long-lasting effect."
