Posted on 05/24/2011 4:50:35 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
White House Creates Liberal Damage Control Position
by L.A. Holmes | May 24, 2011
Any press is good press, right? The Obama administration apparently doesn't think so.
The White House has created a new position dedicated to damage control in the media, but it appears the role will focus on spinning negative stories published on left-of-center websites -- or "progressive" blogs as the new job defines them -- not right-wing news outlets.
In an internal personnel memo first obtained by the Huffington Post, itself a liberal-slanted blog, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer writes that staffer Jesse Lee will head up the new initiative.
"This week, Jesse Lee will move from the new media department into a role in the communications department as Director of Progressive Media & Online Response," Pfeiffer writes.
"For the last two years, Jesse has often worn two hats working in new media and serving as the White House's liaison with the progressive media and online community. Starting this week, Jesse will take on the second role full time working on outreach, strategy and response."
The administration has had to walk a delicate line with its Democratic base since coming to power in 2009. President Obama has faced increasing criticism from the left over issues like its failure to close Guantanamo Bay, sluggish efforts to promote gay rights, and continuation of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Then press secretary Robert Gibbs famously angered what he termed the "professional left," telling The Hill newspaper in August that the group goes too far in its criticism of the president.
"I hear these people saying he's like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested ... I mean, it's crazy," Gibbs said.
(Excerpt) Read more at politics.blogs.foxnews.com ...
“What are you writing, Comrade? Dear Leader wants to know!”
This isn’t satire????
They will need at least 1/2 of the West wing
ahhhh....so many complaints...so little time...
This is why Free Republic, and especially the Sunday Thread, is so important. We catch the lies and report.
They sure should. George Bush is decent, honorable and truthful, all things Baraq al-Husayn bin Obama is not.
So Talon News was a “scandal” but this is just Stalinist business as usual from Progressives.
Zippy is taking so much heat from the web-based left that I seriously doubt whether one toad in the White Hut press operation can stay on top of it.
Should we just call him the Joseph Goebbels Czar?
So will the next White House ALSO have to fill this office for dealing with "Progressive Media"?
Since Obama cannot possibly run on or defend his record publicly, the only move he has left is to unleash the attack dogs of political war.
Obama and his team as well as the left wing media will unleash the nastiest ugliest meanest rottenest political hatchet jobs this country has ever seen.
Shades of the Nixon administration at its worst.
This jig is up, I confess, I am Jesse Lee. Now get down on the floor! You’re all under arrest for daring to question the Supreme Potentate!
I vote for Spin Pimp Deluxe.
I vote for Spin Pimp Deluxe.
Give him some street cred.
M.C. Prop A Ganda
Minister of Truth.
You know, they said that Nixon was paranoid...
Jesse Lee (born 1979) is the White House was named Director of Progressive Media & Online Response on May 23, 2001. This is a newly created position to help maintain the President's online presence as he prepares for his 2012 Presidential reelection bid. The duties of this position, dealing with negative or factually incorrect stories about the President, was formerly handled by the Democratic National Committee's rapid response team.[2] Lee’s first tweet about his new position included a picture of The Terminator.[3]
Lee was formerly the Online Programs Director under the Barack Obama Administration. Lee spent his early life in Takoma Park, Maryland, and graduated with a degree in philosophy from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 2002. He was hired to do Internet work for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in 2003, and worked in their online division from 2004 to 2006.
Lee served as Senior New Media Advisor to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi during the 110th United States Congress. During the 2008 United States presidential election, Lee performed online response for the Democratic National Committee. He worked in online outreach during the Presidential transition of Barack Obama, in the New Media department. On February 23, 2009, President Barack Obama announced Lee was hired as Online Programs Director for his administration. Contents [hide]
Early life and education
Lee was raised in Takoma Park, Maryland.[1] In 2002, Lee graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.[4] Lee graduated with an academic major in philosophy from Trinity College, and was also close to obtaining a major in politics from the college but was short one thesis.[1] After college, Lee did temporary work as a paralegal.[1] [edit] Political career
Lee was hired in 2003 to do Internet-related work for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).[1] From 2004 to 2006, Lee worked for the online division of the DCCC.[4] Rahm Emanuel became DCCC chair in 2005, and allowed Lee discretion in his online postings.[5] Lee served as the Senior New Media Advisor to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi during the 110th United States Congress.[4] Lee blogged for Pelosi on the Speaker's official blog called "The Gavel".[6] During the 2008 United States presidential election, Lee performed online rapid response for the Democratic National Committee.[1] Lee worked in the Presidential transition of Barack Obama, in the New Media department, performing online outreach during the transition and work on the website Change.gov.[4][7] The Washington Post noted "Lee is well respected in the blogosphere".[8] Greg Sargent, a blogger with The Washington Post partner WhoRunsGov.com, wrote positively of Obama's choice of Lee for his transition team.[8] "Lee, meanwhile, is highly regarded by liberal bloggers. He wrote the first-ever blog for the House Speaker, and in the closing days of the campaign he did online rapid response for the DNC, helping the Obama camp frame its message outreach to the blogosphere," wrote Sargent on Talking Points Memo.[9]
On February 23, 2009, President Barack Obama announced Lee was hired as Online Programs Director for his administration, in a release from the White House Press Secretary of "key White House staff".[4] Part of Lee's duties as White House Online Programs Director include running Whitehouse.gov, and innovating techniques to engage individuals on the Internet.[1] Lee came up with a program called "Open for Ideas", and this led to a town hall meeting in March 2009 where President Obama answered questions that had been submitted online.[1] "I think the online town hall is the coolest thing I've seen come to fruition. I'd like to get to the point where that kind of stuff replaces the comment forums you typically find on government websites," said Lee to the National Journal.[1] In September 2009, Lee posted to the White House blog defending the Obama Administration against criticism from conservative political commentator, Glenn Beck.[10] Lee criticized Beck for what he asserted to be factual inaccuracies,[11] and recommended the Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact.com for further information about "Fox lies ... repeated by Glenn Beck and others on the network".[10] Jim Kuhnhenn of the Associated Press wrote that "calling a news networks' assertions 'lies' is unusually confrontational".[12]
LOL
Might I suggest one tweak:
M.C. Poppa Ganda
(I’d be surprised if that isn’t already used)
I though it was pretty gay, too.
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