The Barack Obama Twitter fail
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama created a social media firestorm Friday after he asked those who watched his early-morning speech on the debt ceiling compromise to flood congressional offices with messages. This time, he took to Twitter.
It's been a broiling-hot summer in D.C., with the drama of the debt ceiling playing inside congressional chambers, and President Barack Obama creating problems in congress by asking Americans to flood congressional offices with messages.
On top of the hot air on the Hill, it was broiling, deathly hot outside.- Of course, President Obama had to add to the hot air coming from both sides of the aisle with his second televised speech on the debt ceiling issue in a week.
- At the end of the speech, Obama appealed to Americans and asked them to send another message to congressional offices. But this time, he took to Twitter.
- The New York Times reporter Jen Preston, being the on-top-of-it social media reporter that she is, quickly asked what hashtag was going to be used for this endeavor. Like any new-age journalist worth her salt, she had to follow the hashtag in case a story broke out.
The White House came up with #compromise, but others had different ideas for an appropriate hashtag, thanks to @JeffJarvis. (And fellow Arizona State Cronkite School graduate student @maryannbatlle for using Storify to document Jarvis' phenomenon)
I prefer #fuckyouwashington RT @brianstelter: WH says people responding to Obama's call for tweets should use hashtag #compromise.- And that's when things started to get hot -- literally and figuratively.
The time for putting party first is over. If you want to see a bipartisan #compromise, let Congress know. Call. Email. Tweet. —BO- And just like that, a gantlet had been thrown. Welcome, to Barack Obama social media firestorm 2011.
- The Daily Caller jumped on Preston's tweet, accusing the journalist of helping the President with his twitter campaign.
- And so it started: one by one, Obama staffers calling out only Republican lawmakers and supplying their twitter accounts to the public. There were 2-3 tweets per state, with House members and Senate members from each state getting separate tweets.
- If you live in Arizona, ask @SenJonKyl and @SenJohnMcCain to support a bipartisan compromise to the debt crisis.
- AZ Republican reps on Twitter: @RepGosar (AZ-01), @RepTrentFranks (AZ-02), @benquayle (AZ-03), @RepDavid (AZ-05), @JeffFlake (AZ-06)
- Democratic followers watched with glee.
I LOVE that @BarackObama is tweeting the Twitter handles of GOP lawmakers in EVERY state today. Mad props.
Love seeing so many #compromise tweets post-POTUS request! You can also email me your views at [email protected]Social media folks with no horse in the race had some issues with the overflow of tweets coming from the Presidential twitter account.
- Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois hammered on Obama's use of Ronald Reagan's speech during Obama's prime time TV address earlier in the week.
