In his second televised appeal of the week, President Barack Obama on Friday urged Americans to take to the Internet to push their lawmakers toward a debt ceiling compromise.
“So please, to all the American people, keep it up,” the president said. “If you want to see a bipartisan compromise — a bill that can pass both houses of Congress and that I can sign — let your members of Congress know.”
The president suggested Twitter as a means of interaction between the citizens and their lawmakers to urge them to make a deal. And tweet they did — so much that the White House credits the social networking site for Congress’ recently announced debt ceiling agreement.
According to a Twitter conversation last night between White HouseCommunications Director Dan Pfeiffer and New York Times reporter Brain Stelter, the White House believes the public’s tweets helped push Congress toward a debt ceiling agreement.
“Comm. Director Dan Pfeiffer affirms that the WH believes emails/tweets helped pressure Congress to act,” read Stelter’s tweet.
Following the president’s national address, Americans took to the phone lines and the Internet to contact their lawmakers. Telephone circuits in the Capitol were overwhelmed by a high volume of incoming calls while Twitter exploded with messages aimed at representatives.
The president also made use of the site. Tweeting his 9.4 million followers, Obama asked them to use the hashtag, #compromise.
“The time for putting party first is over. If you want to see a bipartisan #compromise, let Congress know. Call. Email. Tweet.-BO,” he said.
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