President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he thanks members of his campaign staff and volunteers in Chicago, Wednesday, …President Barack Obama's reelection campaign machine is asking supporters to weigh in on what could be one of the most important questions in politics: What do we do next?
Campaign manager Jim Messina — who recently visited the White House, and joked that his next move would be to try to become a red wine expert in Italy — sent out a survey to the operation's e-mailing list.
"Your feedback is crucial in determining how we continue to work together," he said. "Our work isn't over. We didn't do all this just to win a campaign. We have more progress to make, and there's only one way to do it: together."
The massive operation — thousands upon thousands of volunteers, "neighborhood teams," giant mailing lists, a second-to-none fundraising effort — helped give Obama two terms. After 2008, it briefly became a grassroots lobbying organization, only to revert to a presidential campaign when he launched his reelection bid. And now?
What would you choose as the top priority for this organizations in the weeks and years to come?
- Passing the President's legislative agenda
- Supporting candidates in upcoming elections
- Training a new generation of leaders and organizers
- Working on local issues that affect our communities
(Another interesting question: "Are you interested in running for elected office yourself?")