White House Defends Campaign Efforts
Early Wednesday, Democratic aides said that they hoped the feud between the White House and House Democrats over election messaging was behind them. They predicted the gaffe by presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs that enough seats were in play for Republicans to take back the House would likely come up in a meeting with President Obama and House leaders but that the general feeling was that it was time to move forward.
By Wednesday afternoon, however, the story gained steam with a leaked White House memo titled "Principal Political Activity Benefiting House and Senate Incumbents and Candidates." The memo looks like it's prepared to rebut House Democrats' criticism that Mr. Obama, and his administration, aren't doing enough to help their party's members in the lower chamber get re-elected at a time when their control is at stake.
The memo, first reported by Politico and obtained by CBS News, lays out in great detail all the campaign events that the president, Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama, Cabinet members and senior staffers have attended. It states that they have "participated in 187 political events in the last 18 months, all with the intention of directly supporting candidates on the ballot in 2010 or building up the infrastructure of party committees."
The document shows that Mr. Obama participated in 14 events for the Democratic National Committee, four for the House and Senate campaign committees, 10 for Senate candidates and just four events for House members that benefited a total of nine candidates.
One House Democratic aide praised Biden Wednesday for all his efforts to campaign for House candidates, and the memo shows that he's attended 29 events that helped 36 House Democrats.
The document also shows that Cabinet members have been especially active in House campaigns, attending 30 campaign events.
The messaging war is an opportunity for House Republicans to take advantage of Gibbs's comments to raise money and to rise above the squabbling to promote their own agenda. Indiana Republican Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Conference, took advantage of that Wednesday morning when he told reporters that "even the Obama administration understands that House Republicans are poised to take back control of the House of Representatives because of the failed economic policies and aggressive liberalism of this administration and this Congress, all while the economy struggles and federal spending continues to be out of control."
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