Ambassadorships

Obama Names Top Campaign Bundler To Ambassador Spot

Christina Bellantoni | November 30, 2009, 6:45PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama tonight named another top donor to a plum diplomatic post.

In an evening release with several other nominations, Obama said he would appoint attorney Allan Katz to be ambassador to Portugal. Like all ambassadorships, it is subject to senate confirmation.

Katz, a former City Commissioner from Tallahassee, Florida, pulled together more than $500,000 in donations to the Obama campaign as one of the Democrat's top "bundlers."

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2008 campaign

Top 10 Things You Didn't Know Before Reading Plouffe's 'Audacity To Win'

Christina Bellantoni | November 27, 2009, 11:56AM

David Plouffe

TPMDC is thankful today for political books that aren't boring or retread, and David Plouffe's "The Audacity to Win" fits into that category.

Plouffe ran the Obama campaign in 2008 and still does work for the DNC's campaign arm Organizing for America. He dishes in his book on some of the campaign's best-kept secrets.

We've reported on a few since the book came out - the Obama camp leaked the John Edwards haircut, they pushed for an early state campaign pledge to "box in" Hillary Clinton and Edwards offered to endorse for a spot on the ticket.

But there's so much more.

I covered the entire long campaign, and it was fascinating to read a candid book and peek under the hood at what had been a famously tight-lipped shop.

There are plenty of examples of Plouffe being cheap, and a few mentions of Plouffe and Robert Gibbs in their boxers.

After the jump, TPMDC's Top 10 things that Plouffe reveals in "Audacity to Win."

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Organizing for America

Like An '08 Flashback: OFA Targets Sarah Palin As 'Dangerous'

Christina Bellantoni | November 20, 2009, 10:30AM

Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Organizing for America, the DNC's campaign arm set up to support President Obama's agenda, has a familiar target today: Sarah Palin.

Mitch Stewart, OFA's director, told supporters in an email just now they need help to raise "$500,000 in the next week to push back against Sarah Palin and her special interest allies."

His argument is that Palin's "lies" about health care are "widely covered by the media, then constantly echoed by right-wing attack groups and others who are trying to defeat reform." He uses her death panels meme as an example.

In his book "The Audacity to Win," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said he was shocked that Palin was such a good fundraising driver for the team.

He writes that he looked at the online fundraising numbers a few hours after Palin made her big debut at the Republican National Convention going after Obama as his only experience being a community organizer.

"I couldn't believe what I saw," Plouffe wrote.

More from the book:

"We had taken in millions of dollars in the three hours since Palin had started speaking. We hadn't even asked for most of it; we had sent out just a single unplanned fund-raising email highlighting her attacks on community organizers, but it was just starting to hit people's in-boxes as I checked the numbers. So the big response from the last three hours meant people were merely venting via contribution. Her speech might have ginned up their base, but apparently it had sent ours into orbit."

He said he thought, "I hope she keeps this up. Sarah Palin has now become our best fund-raiser."

Sounds like that hasn't changed much.

Stewart's email from today after the jump.

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2008 campaign

Trippi Disputes Plouffe's Claim About Edwards Offer To Trade Endorsement For Joint Ticket

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 1:01PM

Fmr. Howard Dean Campaign Manager Joe Trippi

Former John Edwards adviser Joe Trippi is pushing back against David Plouffe's claim that the Edwards camp tried to strike deals on the vice presidency during the 2008 Democratic primary.

As we reported last night, Plouffe charges in his new book "The Audacity to Win" that a "senior Edwards adviser" suggested Edwards would drop out and that he and Obama could team up as a joint ticket.

Trippi told the Washington Post's Greg Sargent he wasn't aware of the pitch. He also suggested Edwards, who was later mired by scandal due to an affair, was more interested in being attorney general than the No. 2 slot.

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Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin Quotes C.S. Lewis And Asks For Cash

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 10:16AM

For all her 2012 denials, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is sure sounding like a presidential candidate in her fundraising emails.

Palin (R) asks supporters for up to $5,000 in donations, and anything over $100 gets a free, signed copy of "Going Rogue."

She says Ronald Reagan "showed us the way" and "charted the course for us," and goes on to quote C.S. Lewis:

C. S. Lewis once wrote: "We all want progress, but if you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road." We need to get back on the right road. In order to progress, we must return to our founding principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and strong national defense.

Palin says she'll help commonsense candidates "regardless of party" and asks for fundraising help with a peppy message:

"We won't let anyone tell us to sit down and shut up. We're going to stand up, stand together, and fight for what's right!"

Palin's full email after the jump.

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2008 campaign

Plouffe Shocker: Edwards Camp Offered To Endorse If Obama Would Pick Him As VP

Christina Bellantoni | November 16, 2009, 5:56PM

Fmr. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), Fmr. Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe

In the thick of the Democratic presidential primary, a top operative offered up John Edwards' withdrawal from the race and endorsement - on the condition the person he endorsed would offer him a spot on the ticket.

David Plouffe details the deal that "a senior Edwards" adviser" tried to ink before the South Carolina primary, spilling the beans in his book "The Audacity To Win."

Plouffe, then campaign manager for Barack Obama, was worried after the New Hampshire loss and polls tightening in South Carolina.

He said that the rival Edwards camp was in trouble and wanted to make a move with either Obama or Hillary Clinton while Edwards was "at a point of maximum leverage."

In this portion of the book, Plouffe hedges a bit, saying he's not sure Edwards was aware of the effort's specificity.

But he also has direct quotes, suggesting he documented the conversation.

Read the excerpt after the jump.

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2008 campaign

Campaign Tactics They Could Believe In: Obama '08 Pushed Early State Pledge

Christina Bellantoni | November 12, 2009, 10:39AM

David Plouffe

Remember the mess that was Florida, Michigan and the earliest Iowa caucus in history?

Turns out some of the complications were orchestrated by the Obama campaign.

In his new book "The Audacity to Win" Obama campaign manager David Plouffe confesses they tried to "box in" Clinton after the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee decided to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates as punishment for holding primaries earlier than allowed. (In the end, it all worked out, but it caused complete chaos for months as the primary dragged on.)

Plouffe writes:

"Emboldened by the drift of the rules committee, we took it to the next level. I asked Steve Hildebrand to go on a secret diplomatic mission to speak with the four early-state party chairs, encouraging them to ask all the candidates to sign a pledge stating they would not campaign in any states (Florida and Michigan) that had violated the rules and were threatening the approved early states' primacy.

Yes, this was in our self-interest. But it was also in theirs. If these two big states were penalized as severely as possible, and we all committed not to campaign in them, then the role of the early states was protected with no ambiguity."

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2008 campaign

Rubbing It In? OFA's Obama Feed Tweets About Election '08

Christina Bellantoni | November 3, 2009, 7:44PM

President Barack Obama at the George Mason University Patriot Center in Arlington, VA

As Virginia Democrats brace for a potential sweeping loss to Republicans tonight, Organizing for America chooses to reminisce.

The Barack Obama Twitter feed posted for its more than 2.5 million subscribers at 7:06 p.m.:

"Tomorrow will mark a year since our historic victory. Do you have a favorite 2008 Election Day memory? Share your stories via #Nov4"

Tonight the "By the People" documentary about the 2008 campaign is debuting on HBO, so Democrats who don't want to hear bad news can just change the channel and relive the good 'ol days.

As we reported yesterday, OFA is organizing campaign reunions.

Barack Obama

Remember When? White House Staff (And President) Relive Campaign As OFA Plans Reunions

Christina Bellantoni | November 1, 2009, 6:17PM

Organizing for America is putting together campaign "reunions" in honor of the one-year anniversary of Barack Obama's presidential election victory.

Wednesday marks the anniversary of President Barack Obama's historic election, and White House staffers, campaign volunteers and supporters are reliving the moment.

Most prominent in the coming week is Tuesday's HBO debut of the "By the People" documentary, a retelling of the long campaign.

Also happening this week are reunions put together by the volunteers still active in Organizing for America, the next generation of the Obama campaign.

On a sign-up sheet for local reunion events, OFA tells supporters:

"One year ago, President-Elect Obama told us that the election victory was only the beginning of the change we all sought -- and today, through Organizing for America, we're fighting just as hard to make health insurance reform a reality, this year. But while we seek to live up to the President's words, we're planning to gather together to reconnect, celebrate, and remember that moment, last year, when we won a historic victory.

So this week, we're holding reunion events across the country for folks who were involved in the campaign. Can you attend one near you?"

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