Politics

Burson-Marsteller has compiled a list of the 10 most influential political people in the U.S. on Twitter, based on data analysis from Klout.

Members of B-M’s global public affairs practice and its digital team first compiled a list of 1,000 Twitter influencers, then used Klout to narrow the list to the top ten.

The analysis is part of a study called “G20 Influencers,” which you can check out here. That study looks at the loudest voices on Twitter from the Group of 20 nations, including countries across the E.U., Mexico, Russia, and others)

The list after the jump.

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Hilary Rosen, the now familiar SKDKnickerbocker exec who kicked up a hailstorm of crap when she made a comment about Ann Romney never working in her life, has cancelled her scheduled appearance on Meet the Press this Sunday. In a tweet, she writes, “I’m going to be a mom who stays home.” At least she has a sense of humor about the whole thing.

Late yesterday, Rosen apologized (mostly) for her comments, but with Dems backing away from the comment, you got the sense that Rosen would have to do more to make amends. The GOP, sensing an opportunity, seized on the comment. See the Colbert clip below for evidence. But with a day to think it over, a few folks on the left are coming around to Rosen’s POV.

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Only this morning, SKDKnickerbocker MD and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen was sticking to her guns, telling everyone that the uproar over her comments about Ann Romney having “never worked a day in her life” deflected attention from important women’s issues.

But this afternoon, after a day of constant backlash that came from both Democrats and Republicans (including a tweet on First Lady Michelle Obama’s Twitter feed), she issued an apology.

“Let’s put the faux ‘war against stay at home moms’ to rest once and for all. As a mom I know that raising children is the hardest job there is. As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen,” the statement reads. “As a partner in a firm full of women who work outside of the home as well as stay at home mothers, all with plenty of children, gender equality is not a talking point for me…I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended.”

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Mitt Romney is taking his campaign to the general election, and he’s bringing his wife with him.

Ann Romney was the target of a rhetorical punch thrown by Hilary Rosen on CNN last night. Rosen, an MD at D.C. strategic comms firm SKDKnickerbocker and a “Democratic operative,” said that Mitt Romney shouldn’t use his wife as a “guide” to the economic issues women face because Ann Romney “has never worked a day in her life.” Many are saying that the comment is off-base because Ann Romney is a cancer survivor, suffers from MS, and raised five sons. Moreover, critics say it’s offensive to stay-at-home moms who work hard to raise their children.

Both Rosen and Ann Romney were on TV this morning to discuss the issue further, Rosen has written a column in response, and both women are trending on Twitter. Democrats, trying hard to maintain the edge with women voters, are also coming out against the comment. For example, Obama advisor David Axelrod tweeted about his disappointment over the comment. Ann Romney even joined Twitter so she could respond.

Mitt Romney has caught a break. But it’s likely a temporary one.

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It was only yesterday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added her two cents to the “Texts With Hillary” meme that took off over the past week. But all good things must come to an end. The Tumblr’s creators, Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe, have announced that they’re getting out while the getting’s good.

“Is it really possible to top a submission from the Secretary herself? No. But then when you get to text with her in real life – it’s just over. At least for us,” the final TTYL post reads.

But even if the blog is gone, the boost for Madam Secretary will stick around.

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In just a week, the “Texts from Hillary” Tumblr has released a wave of pent-up demand for the “badass cool” of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Proving her camp knows how to handle a social media alley-oop, a staffer reached out to blog’s creators Stacy Lambe and Adam Smith to arrange a quick meeting and photo opp. Each received copies of Clinton’s own TfH submission signed, “Thanks for the many LOLZ”.

And that’s how you handle parodies and spoofs.  For more on the political ramifications of Clinton’s favorability rating and new-found cool, see Talking Points Memo.

Yesterday, Mitt Romney’s adviser Eric Gehrnstrom stunned the media corps with a bizarre statement showing the presumptive GOP nominee’s camp doesn’t understand the modern nature of political campaigning. Telling CNN: “You hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”

Rick “I’m not going away” Santorum was quick to respond, using the classic toy as a prop during a rally in Louisiana.  Our favorite response so far comes from Andy Borowitz on Twitter: “We’re not like Etch-a-Sketch. We’re more like Hungry Hungry Hippos – we can’t stop opening our mouths.”

Another winner in this flap is the toymaker itself.

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Today is the deadline for 11 government agencies to submit information about contracts they have with PR and advertising firms to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management.

Democratic Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and Republican Sen. Rob Portman (OH) have launched an investigation into how the White House has spent federal dollars on PR and advertising. Leaders of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Housing and Urban Development, and the Departments of Energy and Labor were among the agency heads who received the request for details. They’ve been asked for information going back to October 2008.

According to Roll Call, there is precedent for this sort of investigation but the the two Senators here “concede that what the administration is doing likely is legal.” Makes sense right?

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Mitt Romney has faced many questions about his ability to connect with the ordinary folk — those who don’t know CEOs personally and drive many cars. As this primary season continues on (and on and on), Romney’s messaging is again a topic of conversation. The most recent losses in Alabama and Mississippi have re-shined the spotlight on Romney’s appeal to conservatives.

To quote CNN: “With Romney’s message seemingly consumed with delegate math, arguments about electability and attacks against his chief rival Rick Santorum, some of his supporters are asking the candidate to re-calibrate his strategy and make a stronger case to voters about why he deserves to be president.”

Now, Romney’s getting advice from all sides about how he should fine tune his message to shake Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich once and for all.

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Super Tuesday is behind us and with the results showing that the race is increasingly between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, the two are calling for Newt Gingrich to scram.

According to The Washington Post, Santorum’s camp made it clear that Gingrich, who was only successful in Georgia last night, should clear the way for Santorum and stop taking votes from their guy.

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