White House Leans On Social Media For State Of The Union

WASHINGTON -- Days ahead of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, the White House on Friday unveiled a new web video and blog post mapping out all the ways people can use social media to engage directly with White House officials during the president's speech and in the days to follow.

In a web video titled, "The White House Wants To Hear From You," White House senior adviser David Plouffe encourages people to watch Obama's Tuesday night speech on the White House website, www.whitehouse.gov, where there will be an "enhanced version" of the speech featuring details and graphs "that you won't find anywhere else." Immediately after the speech, the White House will live-stream a panel discussion featuring senior administration officials and a live audience taking questions from Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

The next few days, as outlined in a blog post on the White House website, will be a Twitter marathon of sorts. Administration officials will spend Wednesday taking questions on the State of the Union in a day-long, question-and-answer session on Twitter. Participants will include White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest, White House Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council Mark Zuckerman and White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer.

On Thursday, the White House will feature a series of community-focused discussions with policy advisers and experts, with specific conversations on LGBT issues, the Latino community, veterans and seniors, among others. On Friday, the Twitter Q&A's will be directed toward specific policy issues including health, education and jobs. People who want to participate can ask questions on Twitter with the hashtag #WHChat, and administration officials will respond in real-time.

"You can ask questions about your future, your ideas about the economy, how the president's ideas impact your community," Plouffe says in the video. The effect is that "you're not just watching the speech, you're engaged afterwards and able to really talk with us, help inform us better and answer any questions you might have about what the president proposed."

Without giving details, Plouffe said to expect an announcement soon about a "special online event with the president."

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Comments

[Siebenstein]

04:53 PM on 01/21/2012

David Plouffe, I worked my bvtt off for your Obama in 2008 and I can tell you this time "Please kiss my a55"

[smburwick]

03:56 PM on 01/21/2012

Yeah, the Volt was awarded worst car ever made. How many solar companies have gone bust in America? Ask Jeff Inmelt why jobs with GE are in China now? Ask Acorn, why they are still around.

[research b4 you post]

03:47 PM on 01/21/2012

wow never seen so many rightwingers here! All criticism with nothing to back it up. Typical uninformed radiohead following GOP

[The Moondog]

04:07 PM on 01/21/2012

Research, talking about proof, show me the proof you have that all those making negative comments are GOP. Secondly, you should read some of the liberal media, and the electronic media, even they commented about the Volt and two green dreams companies which have gone down the financial drain and taking hundred of millions of taxpayer dollars. Think of this, if you pay taxes some of your money went down the tubes also. How much more waste do you think this economy can afford?

[smburwick]

03:35 PM on 01/21/2012

For the state of union, BO is going to try to sell his marxist vision for America. "Fair" for everyone is what the communists talk about in China and Russia. What is fair? Okay, just read on journalism site that Acorn was advising prostetutes and pimps how to avoid paying taxes. Now you think the liberal want to pay their fair share? Give me a break! Helping the middle class, and fair share is out of the commie handbook. Then BO is going ater Congress, why? because he doesn't have it all in his back pocket. He is going to ridicule Congress, because there is a 'check and balance:' there. Now moonbats are koolaid drinkers of the rich. Well who are the rich supporting Obama? What? their democrats? I believe the tax code should remove the loopholes that Acorn is suggesting to pimps and prostetutes, and to Buffet, Springsteen, Damon , Affleck, Pitt, Streisand, Speilberg, and Jay Z. ----Now he is the guy who calls women '-itches. Nice.

[ATOM]

03:34 PM on 01/21/2012

Obamas campaign is rolling out hard this week right after the state of the union.....he will be pushing hard for his base to comeout and vote again for him..........so look for the reelection pamphlets in your welfare/unemployment/government checks starting this week

[smburwick]

03:41 PM on 01/21/2012

Federal debt clock: USADEBTCLOCK.org

[myline2]

03:02 PM on 01/21/2012

Fact: Reagan inherited UE of 7.5%; by Dec of his 2nd yr it peaked @ 10.8%... by his 3rd it = 8.3%

Fact: Obama inherited UE of 7.6%; by Dec of his 2nd yr it stood @ 9.4%...by his 3rd Dec it = 8.5%

Fact: Reagan increased the Nat'l Debt 23.6% every yr he was in office (189% over 8 yrs)...more
than Doubling It with his Tax Cuts and Massive increases in Defense Spending.

Fact: Obama has increased the Nat'l Debt 13.9% ea yr he's been in office...increasing the debt
44%.

Fact: Reagan did not inherit "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression", 2 wars,
a $10.6 trillion debt (w annual interest of over 1/3 of a Trillion $), or an Opposition Party
bent on blocking a recovery. Obama did.

Fact: Although Obama inherited a far worse economy, his recovery has kept pace with Reagan's,
BUT THE GOP ( & OBAMA-BASHERS) CALL REAGAN A HERO & OBAMA A FAILURE.

[lesnmark]

03:58 PM on 01/21/2012

The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama's watch.

The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office. The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion.

It's the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president.

The national debt increased $4.9 trillion during the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush.

The debt now is rising at a pace to surpass that amount during Mr. Obama's four-year term.

[myline2]

04:20 PM on 01/21/2012

No...it is not "the most rapid increase under any U.S. President". The National Debt increased 189% under Reagan. It increased 89% under Bush. It has increased 44% under Obama.

Furthermore...that's counting, for Obama, (1) the annual interest on that $10.6 Trillion debt ...which = $1 Trillion so far under Obama. Is that Obama's fault or the fault of Bush II, Reagan, Bush I who created the $9 that debt? (2) the $1.25 trillion deficit for 2009...when Bush proposed, signed, and implimented that budget...and when the yr was already 1/3 over when Obama took office & the $$ had been allocated (3) the $$ for the Iraq war thru 12/11 when Bush signed an agreement committing our troops to stay thru that date.

[myline2]

04:23 PM on 01/21/2012

sorry...(1) should read: the annual interest on that $10.6 Trillion debt ...which = $1 Trillion so far under Obama. Is that Obama's fault or the fault of Bush II, Reagan, Bush I who created the debt?

[The Moondog]

04:13 PM on 01/21/2012

Please go back and research the interest rates during President Carters term in office, his reduction of the DoD which was when our Embassy and our SD employees were held for over 400 days, look at the inflation rate during the same era. Reagan got us back on track, our national debt returned to a manageable level, unemployment went down from above 10% under President carter, our automobile manufacturers had some of their worst sales under Carter's term and the beat could go on. However, you have your mind set and that is what is still great about America.

[hertamania]

02:07 PM on 01/21/2012

I have a question for Obama already, how long will it take you to pack and get the heck out of the WH

[rimrock]

05:51 PM on 01/21/2012

Another four years if we are lucky!

[hertamania]

04:20 PM on 01/22/2012

I know he is a bit slow but I hope not that slow.

[noknrc]

01:41 PM on 01/21/2012

Maybe he should try and open the state of the union address with trying to sing more of Al Greens songs.

[decat2]

02:57 PM on 01/21/2012

Too bad Obama cant run his office as well as he sings.

[noknrc]

03:08 PM on 01/21/2012

Problem is his singing was not that great either but better then then job he has been doing.

[bccpn]

01:08 PM on 01/21/2012

DNC is now going nuts with reports Newt will end up with many of the Huntsman and Perry supporters. They do not want Newt and that is all the more reason for America to want him. He will end the thoughts of a second term in the first debate ,that is if Obama has the nads to get on the same stage as Newt.

[noknrc]

01:42 PM on 01/21/2012

He would never stand a chance of debating Newt. Newt would shred him in the first 10 minutes.

[noknrc]

01:44 PM on 01/21/2012

Newt has probably forgotten more things about running this country then Obama could learn in his lifetime.

[bccpn]

01:04 PM on 01/21/2012

Obama says he is doing great ,that is a dangerous politician not able to to see past himself to see reality.

[noknrc]

01:45 PM on 01/21/2012

Sort of reminds me of Nixon standing in front of the mirror practicing his. "I am not a crook." line.

[decat2]

03:12 PM on 01/21/2012

Yes but at least Nixon had the decency to resign,"for the good of the country" too bad Obama couldn't do the same for the same reson !

[research b4 you post]

03:47 PM on 01/21/2012

what is the reality that you see?

[bccpn]

01:02 PM on 01/21/2012

Obama was not the best you democrats had to chose from ,why did you pick the least when you had other great choices? That warm fuzzy feeling is wearing off on a lot of democrats. Feeling voter remorse?

[noknrc]

01:38 PM on 01/21/2012

That has been my question since 2008. How could they throw Hillary under the bus for Obama. He was someone who was never heard of, had little or no experience, and many issues in his background that were never questioned. Lets face it he drew in the younger voters because he was younger and cute as many stated. he is a great speaker as long as he has a teleprompter.Other then that he came on the scene with nothing more to offer.

[bccpn]

12:27 PM on 01/21/2012

I have a few questions for Obama , Why have you not done your job and keep saying Bush was so bad but follow his plans on everything from troop withdraw to his tax cuts which are now your tax cuts? Getting UBL was a 10 year plan Bush initiated not you . Why do you stop energy production when knowing that allowing it will make us the richest nation in the world again with UE in the 3% range? Why did you appoint misfits as advisers hearing them and not the people. Why did Reagan create 1.3 million jobs in weeks and you lost 14 million in 3 years? Why do you want to run again after failing so bad the first time is the biggest question.

[myline2]

12:44 PM on 01/21/2012

(1) Bush signed an agreement w/Iraq commiting our troops thru 12/11. Obama HAD to follow it. And, if you paid attention...the GOP refuses to increase the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, while Obama doesn't want them increased for the middle class in this economy (2) The #1 US export in 2011 was Oil. Why -- exactly -- should the US permit Big Oil to run a massive pipeline from Canada to Houston...just so they can export the oil from the port? (3) Reagan inherited UE of 7.5%, by Dec of his 2nd yr it had peaked @ 10.8%...by Dec of his 3rd it was @ 8.3% -- two-tenths of a point lower than Obama has it in December of his 3rd yr.

[bccpn]

12:53 PM on 01/21/2012

The exported oil cannot be used in the US because of EPA regs on sulfur content. Big Oil is the leader in green tech but do not let that sway you from your bs and propaganda. Go get some education on reality and come back

[decat2]

03:17 PM on 01/21/2012

Well stated,there is no depth that Obama will not sink to in order to try and look good.

[rimrock]

05:55 PM on 01/21/2012

Reagan was terrible. He screwed the federal workers.

[Dan Crabtree]

12:08 PM on 01/21/2012

Hummm still scratching my head on president obamas membership in the "NEW PARTY" during 1995 and 96..A radical communist organization..How did this man get to be preisident of the united states?Yet not a word is mentioned from his press, not a peep..hummm.

[myline2]

12:23 PM on 01/21/2012

The New Party was a center-left organization -- not a "radical" anything....let alone Communist. Where do you people dream up this stuff?

[lesnmark]

04:07 PM on 01/21/2012

“‘The Left is in crisis, and it has been for some time,’ said Carl Davidson, the former national secretary for the radical Students for a Democratic Society. ‘I don’t know if it’s even bottomed out yet,’” he reported to Mr. Mills. Mills continued, “The Socialist Workers Party is in this corner; the International Socialist Organization is in this one. The [communist group Committee of Correspondence] is in another. The radicals, or even the liberals with some radical leanings -- so-called ‘soft radicals’ -- seem to find it hard to abandon individual issues for a broader movement.”

Nonetheless, Obama still coveted the New Party endorsement. The New Party required candidates who received the endorsement sign a pledge of support for the party. Obama did not need to support a party that was, in effect, a front group for communists; yet he still chose to. The July issue of the New Ground noted that 15% of the New Party consisted of Democratic Socialists of America members and a good number of Committee of Correspondence members.

[maxinemm]

01:28 PM on 01/21/2012

What the people are waking up to on the next election...a socialist president with a socialisst agenda...hollywood loves him..there was another time hollywood loved socialism-communism...WE MUST NOT LET HIM OR HIS CHICAGO AND UNIONIZED CRONIES-THE JERIMIAHS-GET REELECTED....HE HAS BEEN A DISMAL FAILURE...TOTAL PARTY MUST GOOOO!

[bccpn]

12:02 PM on 01/21/2012

Real unemployment is between 10 and 13% when they count all the people who stopped looking. Dems have done this every election cycle when they have a president in office. Bill C said he ended all the home less and the reports came out saying that but just weeks into the Bush term the numbers went right back to where they were before Bill took office.Not magic it is called fuzzy liberal math and is being taught in our schools that is why we are 35th in the world not 1st.

[myline2]

12:25 PM on 01/21/2012

No..."real UE" is 8.5%. You have to "count" it the same way "they" counted it for Bush and for Reagan...which is how it is being counted for Obama. You don't change the rules now so that you can make Obama look worse.

[bccpn]

12:30 PM on 01/21/2012

Obama just 2 months ago changed the rules. Word of advice unless you are very well educated on what is going on do not debate me. The numbers were 9.4% now 8.5% wit just 1.2 million getting jobs while it was 14 million who lost jobs.

[lesnmark]

04:12 PM on 01/21/2012

American Enterprise Institute economist Aparna Mathur and economic researcher Matt Jensen find that the 8/5% rate is misleading. They report:

• A better measure of the real jobless rate is called the “U-6” which stands at 15.6 percent. (The U-6 rate includes those that would still like a job and have looked for work in the last twelve months, not just the last four weeks.) That means the number of Americans hurt by the bad economy is almost twice what the official number would suggest.

•In fact, the official rate excludes workers who have decided to drop out of the labor market altogether — either because they are discouraged or for other reasons — and also ignores workers who settle for part-time work because they are unable to find a full-time job.

•Currently more than 5.7 million Americans, or an astounding 43 percent of all unemployed have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks. The tremendous increase in long-term unemployment is one factor driving the unprecedented disparity between the official measure of unemployment and the alternative measure (U-6). Long-term unemployment has a damaging psychological impact on workers’ willingness to keep searching for work and motivates them to accept part-time work.

•As bad policy from Washington forces businesses to seek flexibility, the chasm between the U-6 and official unemployment rates may become a permanent fixture of the economic landscape.

[bccpn]

11:53 AM on 01/21/2012

Newt will get my vote and if America wants to return to being wealthy producing and using our own oil creating millions of new jobs in just 5 years putting us back on top of the world economy not at the bottom you will also vote for him. He has been there knows how it works and who to push to get the job done. Iran and Korea will not even be an issue and the world will not be slaves to middle east oil. Time to get a president who will work not spend most of his time on a golf course or jetting around the globe with his family. Obama has proven to be a mistake Newt proved his abilities during Reagan and Bill C. Now is his time.We need a leader not a Jr senator with 180 says in real politics.

[PunDyt]

12:18 PM on 01/21/2012

Newt proved his abilities during Reagan and Bill C.

His contribution during the Reagan years were partisan screeds delivered on the House floor after most members had left already.

After his caucus coup power grab to claim the Speaker gavel he dropped it on his foot: shut down the federal government because he had to ride coach in Air Force One coming back from Israel, from a state funeral, and that made him mad, so he was gonna show Clinton who was boss. And that backfired titantically, burnished Clinton's image as the grownup enough to score him a second term. GOP House brass began leaving Newt's camp posthaste.

Yeah Newt's a real leader all right. Revolving Tiffany account, having a concubine during his second marriage (who by the way was his congressional aid now 3rd wife, and that happened while he was publicly chastising Clinton for the Lewinsky business); ultimately he was tossed out of the House speaker job by his own party because of his colossal lack of leadership and graceless performance under fire.

Gingrich is a bounder, not to mention a political mountebank. That he could even stage half of a comeback is a reaffirmation to just how fouled up the Republican Party has become and how directionless it is.

[bccpn]

12:48 PM on 01/21/2012

Numbers in both administrations do not lie. If all you have is a fake story about Newt and the AF1 incedent you have nothing. Obama has a record of failure including 800 billion in stimulus that according to the CBO was counter productive in creating jobs. Newt got 1 million and 60 million that is all the facts I need to vote for him and get Obama out,Again numbers do not lie Democrats do at every chance they get.

[bccpn]

12:51 PM on 01/21/2012

Facts are not your strong point. Newt was told not to exit with the President and first lady that is why he got into the discussion not flying in a section of the plane that does not exist. Coach on AF1 now I heard everything.