Pres. Obama using bully pulpit to promote policy agenda

“Use the bully pulpit to move the heart of Americans.”

Major U.S. media on Tuesday said U.S. President Barack Obama has actively begun to use his bully pulpit in his second term.

He has opted to directly speak to the nation to overcome leadership crises caused by major policy issues such as immigration reform, gun control and government spending. The term "bully pulpit" refers to the governing style of previous presidents who were good at public speaking, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt.

The president`s visit to Las Vegas Tuesday is a case in point. He flew 3,200 kilometers to announce his immigration reform plan, a focal point of his second term. In his visit that lasted two hours and 30 minutes, he delivered a 25-minute speech at Del Sol High School, talked with the attendants, returned to Washington. A Washington Post correspondent wrote, “We had no time to catch our breath.”

President Obama`s trip to Las Vegas was the first official visit of his second term. He flew all the way there to maximize the effectiveness of his speech on immigration reform because 30 percent of the city`s residents are Hispanic, who will benefit the most from the reform. Fifty-four percent of Del Sol students are Hispanic. The president received an enthusiastic welcome there. According to White House transcripts, the audience burst into applause a whopping 25 times in the 25-minute speech.

His speech touched the people’s hearts. He spoke from the perspective of listeners by giving examples of people to benefit from his immigration reform plan. He emphasized that the U.S. is a country of immigrants by mentioning Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, an American of Mexican descent, and Alan Aleman, a young undocumented immigrant who was recently granted deferred action. The president said that thanks to the moratorium on the deportation of undocumented youth enacted in August last year, Aleman can stay in the U.S. and hopes to join the military.

President Obama spent more than five minutes in his speech giving examples of beneficiaries of his policy. In a memorial speech for the victims of the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, last month, he named all 20 young victims to emphasize the need for gun control.

His supporters are often seen standing behind him while he gives speeches. The families of the Newtown victims were put behind the president while he pitched the need for gun control. While pressing Republicans to tackle the fiscal cliff, people who would face higher taxes if the negotiations failed were seen behind the president. Critics say his public speeches are like political campaigns because of the number of citizens behind him.

Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada-Reno, said, “President Obama will keep addressing the nation directly before congressional negotiation for the other key policies, such as gun control, government spending, environment regulation and gay rights.”

mickey@donga.com