Obama Makes YouTube Video For Iranian Holiday, Begins Pledge Drive
Today marks the Iranian holiday of Nowruz--translated as "new day" and marking the beginning of Spring--and Barack, being the first actual 21st Century President, decided to make a YouTube video and post it on the White House blog as a goodwill gesture to all Iranians. We have to admit it still feels provocative and new to have a President who does things like make warm-hearted videos celebrating foreign holidays and saying things like "at this holiday we are reminded of the common humanity that binds us together."
President Obama also goes on to address the Iranian government's actions in recent years, saying the nation cannot return to its rightful place among the community of nations "through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization." Watch it in full below. (The New York Times reports that the Israeli President made a similar video appeal on behalf of the Jewish people.)
In related, multimedia Presidential news, during his trip to California, Barack made an appearance on The Tonight Show this week (the first ever for a sitting President). And he is using the appearance to kick off his "permanent campaign" along with an email pledge drive going out this weekend to ask 13 million campaign supporters to go door-to-door across the country to raise support for his policies. "This is taking that online social networking [from the election campaign] and moving it to offline social networking," says Jeremy Bird of Organizing for America. The move is being compared to FDR's use of the radio to build support for his New Deal Agenda.