The Obama campaign narrowly dodged a social media crisis on Tuesday.
Unlike two weeks ago, when a tweet sparked a headache for the campaign, this almost-crisis started on Tumblr after an Obama staffer reblogged an e-card that said, “Vote like your lady parts depend on it.” The post added, “Because they kinda do.”
Quick word of explanation: On Tumblr, you follow other users as you would on Twitter, and reblog (think retweet) their posts, which then appear on your page.
The “lady parts” reblog fired up the conservative blogosphere as well as numerous people on Twitter. “I'm gunna vote with my brain, not my #LadyParts,” said one
tweet.
Another
tweet said: “Dear #President:I know you think we’re just a bunch of #LadyParts; truth is we’re smart,well-informed & not voting 4 you;sry. Love, USAWomen.”
In response, the campaign deleted the Tumblr post shortly after it went live on Tuesday. (
The Weekly Standard grabbed a screenshot of the post.) An Obama staffer explained to
BuzzFeed:
“We have a review process for our online content and this piece did not go through our regular review. When it was discovered, it was taken down.”
Deleting the post seemed to help quell the controversy, although conversation around the
#ladyparts hashtag continues on Twitter this morning.
The president holds a commanding lead among women, 56 percent to 38 percent, according to a
poll released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University.
Two weeks ago,
the Obama campaign faced a mini-crisis after a staffer shared a picture of the president meeting with a man dressed in a pirate outfit. The tongue-in-cheek tweet, which asked “Arr you in,” coincided with the faux holiday, Talk Like A Pirate Day.
The Drudge Report, Fox News, and other prominent media outlets used the picture to suggest the president was meeting with a pirate instead of making time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the picture was taken three years ago, and the pirate was one of the president’s speechwriters.
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