Blogs and Stories
Yes, We Spam!
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
A Dear John letter to David Plouffe, the architect of Barack Obama’s email juggernaut.
In the beginning, it was new. My friend Barack was a new kind of candidate, and it was natural he would have a new kind of campaign, run by his friend David, who would, in turn, become my friend. We met when Barack came to Houston just before the Texas primary last March and gave a speech “open to everyone” at the Toyota Center, Houston’s downtown basketball arena.
The only catch was that you had to have a ticket, and the tickets were only available by contacting Barack’s presidential website, and they were going fast. I raced to the website—by then I was deep into my Obamania--and managed to glean two, one for my son and one for me. I am pretty sure that my relationship with David began very soon after that.
I voted for Obama because I trust him to make the right decisions for me and my country; if I were interested in doing it myself I would have run for office.
David is, of course, David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s campaign manager. I should also say that David and I are not exactly friends, just like Obama and I are not really friends. David is one of the geniuses who put together the email list of 13 million supporters who contributed part of the astounding $600 million raised for Obama. The transition staff is now trying to figure out what, exactly, to do with this vast network that the Baltimore Sun called one of the most valuable assets in American politics.
Just last weekend, there was a closed-door summit in Chicago about how to use these contacts in the future. I don’t mean to be a wet blanket—I wept along with everyone else on November 4th—but I am now filled with dread. To my BFF David, I would ask: please take me off the list.
It was great to be part of the campaign. After I went to the rally, David started sending me emails that addressed me by my first name, and were signed with his. Some were deliciously wonky: “Our projections show the most likely outcome of yesterday's elections will be that Hillary Clinton gained 187 delegates, and we gained 183. That's a net gain of 4 delegates out of more than 370 delegates available from all the states that voted. For comparison, that's less than half our net gain of 9 delegates from the District of Columbia alone.. .” David—that’s how he signed his emails—told me which states “we” were winning, which states “we” were losing, and, of course, where I could send money to help the cause. Virtually every email had a big red Donate button at the bottom.
As the campaign went on, I also heard from Barack, Michelle, Joe, and my new friends at Move-On.org. But it was David who wrote almost every day. When “we” won on November 4, Barack and David thanked me via email, and I thought our relationship had reached its happy end. I was ready to let them run the country, while I went back to my life.
But that isn’t what happened. David has become sort of like a boyfriend I broke up with who keeps trying to be friends. He keeps writing. And writing. “Watch the video of Barack’s announcement and learn about the national security team,” suggested a message that arrived soon after Hillary’s appointment. Then, a few days later, David invited me to become a Change is Coming organizer: “On December 13th and 14th, supporters are coming together in every part of the country to reflect on what we've accomplished and plan the future of this movement. Your ideas and feedback will be collected and used to guide this movement in the months and years ahead.”
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Amen
I'm in the same boat you're in. I went to one of his speeches a very long time ago, bought the ticket via the internet, and have been getting emails ever since. I didn't mind getting them during the campaign season. Just like you said, I started to think of David like a "friend".
Sometimes I would tell my real friends "Barack is asking me for money again, I don't think he thinks he can win Pennsylvania" or whatever. My real friends would usually point out that he has asked for money for every state regardless of whether or not he is doing well.
At first David seemed like a good guy, always keeping me up to date on the latest Obama talking points.
But you're right, now he's like a boyfriend I broke up with. Worse than that though, an ex-boyfriend who constantly wants money.
I actually don't mind that they continue to email me. In fact, in the survey that yes, I did fill out, I told them I hoped they would continue to use this medium to communicate directly (not through a media filter) with supporters like me. Even though I too am already involved in many ways in my community, I feel that in a time like this, our president should be able to come to us directly with his ideas on how we can help. I may or may not be able or willing to, but I think it would be a shame if they squandered the sense of oneness that the campaign brought about by shutting down direct communications altogether.
All that being said, they need to lose the "Donate" buttons and stop trying to sell me knick-knacks. It cheapens what (I hope) they're trying to do.
I got tired of all the e-mails during the campaign, particularly those telling me to pick up the phone and call all those undecideds. While I was happy to help when I could, the pressure to do so was very offputting.
While I am very tired of the donate e-mails (reminder, it is Christmas and people are out of work), I wouldn't mind those that reward me with knick-knacks I could use for Christmas presents if I actually received them. I'm still waiting for the Obama/Biden car magnet ($15) promised in August and then promised no later than the end of September due to demand. I did finally get the T-shirt ($30) promised for October 17th about four days after the election. So no, I won't be donating to receive anything else. I found out early that I was not really David's friend, just his pigeon.
You can unsign up by a simply click on the email.
Kinda leaves you feeling weird about the whole (my) friend thing.
Anybody who can make 13 mill. friends must have some mojo.
I am very happy to receive an occasional email from Barack or David. I was impressed with the email the night of the election when Barack wrote to me (us) before heading to his rally. I believe this is a real opportunity for communication that could inform and involve us who often feel left out of the why of decisions by the government. I have imagined how different we would all have felt if George W. Bush had emailed us to tell us why we were invading Iraq. I believe, perhaps naieve, that my entire perception of what happened would be entirely different. I was at first somewhat iritated with the frequency of the spam from David, etal, but I now feel the frequency of contact is about right and I notice that the "donate" opportunity is still there, but much smaller and less pushy. I am hopeful that Barack and David will continue to keep me informed as we progress together toward a better America. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Mimi, you signed up for the emails. If you're tired of it, hit the unsubscribe link. It's that simple. But don't criticize the people with whom you signed up, just because they're doing what they said they would do - email you.
It is easy to unsubscribe. So do it and stop complaining or writing an article about it
I found these e-mails to be mostly valuable during the campaign, but I think now that it's over, they should be used sparingly, mostly limited to moving forward initiatives we got involved with the campaign to begin with. I'm not interested in an Obama snowcap or donating for 2012 yet. And I'm certainly not interested in helping Hillary Clinton retire her campaign debt. She should've thought more realistically before giving herself a big loan when no one would donate to her campaign and now she'll just have to live with it.
Interesting! Most of you had enough of Obama email, I on the other hand desperately want (not e-mail), but to get in touch with the transition team. I want to propose a new mission for the Obama grass roots organization: The Los Angeles Peace and Sustainability Project... To build a nonprofit development that would demonstrate a new hybrid socioeconomic system. This system would have the capacity to generate and retain local wealth thus create economic and social security and quality of life at minimal and sustainable environmental footprint.
If you can help me contact the Obama transition team or if you want to get involved in this project please let me know.
You can learn more and contact me at www.holigent.org
Nicholas
Thank you.
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