WASHINGTON: The profile is matter-of-fact: “Dad, husband and 44th President of the United States.”
But the first message brimmed with enthusiasm: “Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really!”
With that, President Barack Obama inaugurated his own Twitter account on Monday, after years of complaining of being trapped in a Washington bubble, unable to connect with real people, blocked from hearing their concerns, fears and hopes. He could get all that, and more, with the new @POTUS account.
White House aides promised that the president would “engage directly with the American people” on the often chaotic social media site, which has become a global town square for the Internet age. Obama has also written posts in the past under the handle @BarackObama, which is used by Organizing for Action, his nonprofit advocacy group, and the handle @WhiteHouse, which is used by his communications team.
But the new handle is his own, and within hours, more than 1 million people had signed up to follow his musings. The president’s first message acknowledged the obvious: It was about time.
“Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account,” he wrote.
The appeal for Obama seems obvious: He has gone to great lengths to break out of the politically cloistered Washington scene, which he clearly hates. He has scheduled lunches with people who wrote him letters. And he has occasionally sought to break loose of the cocoon of protection by walking unannounced into a deli or a coffee shop.
“I’m sort of like the circus bear that kind of breaks the chain, and I start taking off, and everybody starts whispering, ‘The bear’s loose,’” Obama said last year.
But early indications suggest that the Twitter conversation may be more one-sided than he realises. As of late afternoon Monday, Obama was following only 65 other accounts, which mostly included the institutions of government: @HUDGov, @USTradeRep, @USTreasury and, of course, his wife Michelle’s account,
@FLOTUS.
“It’s about time, @POTUS! -mo” she tweeted in response.
He was also following several Chicago sports teams, his college alma maters and two politicians: Bill Clinton and the elder George Bush.
But so far, no real people. If Obama spends any time scanning his Twitter timeline on Tuesday, he is not likely to get that outside-of-Washington, bear-is-loose feeling that he so craves. A message on Monday afternoon from the Housing Department noted a $6 million (Dh22 million) grant to public housing authorities.
The account instantly became one of the world’s top hacking targets.
The already verified account features the customary headshot of Obama, but also a background photo of him walking over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in March, when he marked the 50th anniversary of a civil rights march that changed America.
Obama’s arrival on Twitter was also greeted by Justin Bieber’s mother, the Chicago Bears and former president Bill Clinton, husband of 2016 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
“Welcome to @Twitter, @POTUS! One question: Does that username stay with the office? #askingforafriend,” he tweeted.
Obama responded: “Good question, @billclinton. The handle comes with the house. Know anyone interested in @FLOTUS?” - referring to the first lady of the United States account.
If Hillary were elected, Bill Clinton would become the first American “First Gentleman.”
Since Calvin Coolidge made the first presidential radio address in 1923, presidents have often tried to speak directly to voters.
Similarly Obama has embraced social media to sidestep the media’s filter, appearing on YouTube, posting selfies and hosting question-and-answer sessions on Reddit.
