Ask Obama About Gunwalker

Obama State of the Union
Obama State of the Union

USA –-(Ammoland.com)- “What would you ask President Obama?” a January 23 email from The White House begins:

“Tomorrow, President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address at 9:00 p.m. ET. During that speech, he’ll lay out his vision for an America where hard work and responsibility are rewarded, where everyone does their fair share, and where everyone is held accountable for what they do.”

“There is a range of ways to get involved with this year’s State of the Union address.”

“Immediately following the President’s speech on Tuesday, be sure to stay tuned to WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU for a live panel featuring senior White House advisors answering your questions about the speech.”

“Then, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, a group of policy experts and advisors to the President will sit down for Office Hours on Twitter — discussing the issues that matter to you and your community.”

“Finally, on Monday, January 30, President Obama will join the conversation in a special Google+ Hangout, a live multi-person video chat, from the White House.”

“Participating in the Hangout is easy — just visit the White House YouTube channel to submit your questions and vote for your favorites between now and January 28. A few participants will be chosen to join the President in the Google+ Hangout to ask their questions of the President live!”

“Check out WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU to learn more about watching the enhanced State of the Union online and all the ways you can ask questions this week:”

Here’s the full lineup — all times are ET.

Tuesday
9:00 p.m.: Watch the enhanced version of the speech that features graphics, data and stats that highlight the issues the President is discussing on WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU. Use the Twitter hashtag #SOTU to discuss the speech live.
10:00 p.m.: Immediately following the speech, pose your questions to a live panel at the White House. Senior advisors will answer your questions about the President’s address submitted via Twitter (use #WHChat and #SOTU), Facebook, Google+, and an in-person audience of Tweetup participants.

Wednesday
All Day: Josh Earnest, Principal Deputy Press Secretary, answers your questions on Twitter (@jearnest44)
1:00 p.m.: Office Hours with Mark Zuckerman, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council
3:00 p.m.: Office Hours with Dan Pfeiffer (@pfeiffer44), White House Communications Director

Thursday
10:00 a.m.: Veterans: Matt Flavin, White House Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy
11:00 a.m.: LGBT: Miriam Vogel, White House Senior Policy Advisor and Gautam Raghavan, White House Associate Director for Public Engagement
12:00 p.m.: Women: Racquel Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity and Avra Siegel, White House Deputy Executive Director for the Council on Women and Girls
1:00 p.m.: Seniors: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary
2:00 p.m.: Latinos: Felicia Escobar, White House Senior Policy Advisor, Julie Rodriguez, White House Associate Director of Public Engagement and Luis Miranda, White House Director of Hispanic Media
4:00 p.m.: Small Business Owners: Christine Koronides, Senior Advisor for Economic Policy, National Economic Council
5:00 p.m.: African Americans: Danielle Gray, Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
6:00 p.m.: Asian American Pacific Islanders: Chris Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
TBD: Youth: Administration official to be announced

Friday
11:00 a.m.: Foreign Policy: Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting
12:00 p.m.: Education: Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy
1:00 p.m.: Health: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary
2:00 p.m.: Energy: Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change and Dan Utech, Deputy Director for Energy Policy
3:00 p.m.: Consumer Protections: Brian Deese, Deputy Director National Economic Council
4:00 p.m.: The Economy: Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director National Economic Council
5:00 p.m.: Job Opportunities: Portia Wu, Senior Policy Advisor for Mobility and Opportunity Policy
6:00 p.m.: Urban Issues: Racquel Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity

Monday January 30
President Obama participates in a Google+ Hangout from the White House

Why not ask him about Gunwalker? Not that we can expect a straight answer, but Twitter and Facebook would provide good opportunities for activists who have been paying attention to the story and know its importance to put administration officials on the spot–censoring a supposedly open forum would be problematic, and their answers may reveal some loose threads to pull.

Of particular interest could be the YouTube “interview” opportunity:

Starting today, you can ask President Obama the questions that are on your mind about the direction of the country and vote on others that you think should be asked. He’ll answer several of your top-voted questions during a special interview, which will take place on January 30, live from the White House. A selection of people who submit questions will also be invited to join a Google+ Hangout live with the President during the interview.

The deadline to submit is January 28 at midnight ET so submit your question now.

Note: President Obama and the White House are not responsible for question selection and will not see the questions that will be asked prior to the interview.

4 days left to vote and ask your questions.

So we should be able to see if the voting really matters–or if a preemptive question worded to elicit administration cover up talking points is selected as the category representative.

Will it make a difference? Is it just a waste of time?

Who knows? But it won’t take much time to go and post a question or to vote for ones that are particularly comprehensive and/or worded to make an equivocating response obvious.

It would be appropriate to see everyone who is outraged by the government’s actions, stonewalling and outright lies to get personally involved and to also spread the word about this.

Besides, why let Darrell Issa have all the fun?


About David Codrea:

David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.DavidCodrea.com.