The White House is deploying President Obama’s political brain trust from the 2008 campaign to help make the case for military action in Syria. Several of Mr. Obama’s closest former aides gathered at the White House on Tuesday morning at the behest of the chief of staff, Denis R. McDonough, to coordinate their message.
Among those taking part are David Plouffe, the president’s former senior adviser and campaign manager; Robert Gibbs, the former press secretary; Jon Favreau, a former chief speechwriter; and Tommy Vietor, the former spokesman for the National Security Council.
Mr. Plouffe, Mr. Vietor and Mr. Gibbs have also appeared regularly on cable television to defend their former boss.
Mr. Vietor and Mr. Favreau are avid users of Twitter, often replying to criticism of Mr. Obama’s policies. Over the weekend, Mr. Favreau urged his Twitter followers to reread the president’s 2009 acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize to understand his views on military action.
The former advisers waited to enter the White House just as a meeting was wrapping up between Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and leaders of the House and Senate foreign relations, defense, and intelligence committees.
After that meeting, the comments of several members suggested some support for Mr. Obama’s position on Republicans and Democrats. But the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, said the White House still needed to do more to persuade the American people.
That’s where the gang from 2008 comes in.
