"Fireside Chat" at FDR Memorial in Washington
The day Barack Obama announced that Joe Biden was his choice for vice president last August... that was the day I knew Obama was going to win the presidential election.
Within 10 minutes of the announcement that day, I logged on to Joe Biden's campaign website and was automatically connected to www.BarackObama.com.
“Welcome to Obama for America,” the banner read over pictures of Obama and Biden. “Let's welcome Joe Biden...”
The guys running Obama's campaign were good. They were going to win, and it was clear they knew how to do it. They still do.
So, it was no surprise this weekend, when I joined... perhaps as many as hundreds of thousands of Obama supporters... in listening and watching the 21st century version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats.
In a series of 30 evening radio broadcasts between 1933 and 1944, FDR appealed to Americans for help getting his agenda passed and getting us through the Great Depression and World War II. Letters would pour in to Congress following each of these "chats," which helped pressure legislators to pass measures Roosevelt had proposed. President Obama, I am sure, is hoping for much the same.
In the video address – e-mailed to the hosts and hostesses of Economic Recovery House Meetings, in neighborhoods coast-to-coast – Obama discussed his plan to solve our economic crisis. He explained the need for urgent action and outlined the core principles that, he says, will guide our road to recovery.
“America is facing an urgent and unprecedented challenge,” Obama presidential campaign manager David Plouffe, e-mailed supporters over the weekend. “The economic crisis requires bold and immediate action. It’s up to all of us to make sure friends, family, and neighbors know the facts about this plan and how it will affect them and their families.”
Talk about a “bully pulpit” !!!
Additional Resources:
Congress divided over stimulus bills
Echoes from the campaign trail
Barack Obama and me
Comments