WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is re-hiring two of the top digital strategists from the 2008 campaign to assist with his 2012 run.
The Obama re-election team announced on Friday that Joe Rospars would be hired for the role of chief digital strategist while Michael Slaby would take on the role of chief integration and innovation officer. Both Rospars and Slaby helped Obama's '08 campaign score major breakthroughs in the areas of online politicking and digital outreach.
Each had declined to shift over to the White House, with Rospars going back to the firm he started, Blue State Digital, and Slaby working at the global public relations firm Edelman. But the opportunity to get Obama re-elected –- and, perhaps, adapt the campaign to even newer new media forums -- was apparently more alluring than the private sector.
The news, first broken by National Journal's Marc Ambinder, was confirmed by sources at the Democratic National Committee. A Democratic source familiar with the hires said that the news "has been in the wings" for some time, with the campaign just waiting for the right moment to make the announcement.
Rospars declined an offer to comment. A call to Slaby at Edelman was not immediately returned.