Monica Perez Nevarez 9/3/2013
Adventures in tweeting
Tweeting is a universe onto itself, and businessmen as well as journalists are still trying to make sense of it. It’s not necessarily about letting your followers know what you are up to; it’ s about building trust and engagement with your followers and finding new ones. Best way to do that? Follow people with many followers, and live-tweet events that have a large following. The first is self-explanatory; the second less so. Below you will find a forensic dissection of a “live-tweet” event, to see what we can learn about that particular form of communication, and how you could harness that power.
On 8/31/2013, President Obama gave a ten minute statement regarding his decisions on what actions the US should take against Syria for illegally and immorally using WMD gas to kill over 1,000 people in Damascus during their ongoing civil war (he is determined and ready to act with a limited military response, but wants Congress to debate and vote on the actions the US should take).
I live-tweeted the event as a way to study the mechanics and uses of tweeter (and made all sorts of newbie mistakes for illustration purposes), as a case study of what live-tweeting looks like, its possible uses, risks, benefits, and best practices, and to highlight any shining examples of excellence under pressure.
I learned of the event exactly three minutes before it was set to start (as it turned out, the President would be late, but no one knew that at the time). [For a basic summary of live-tweeting from the horse’s mouth, read “Live Tweeting Best Practices” by Twitter https://dev.twitter.com/media/live-tweeting; to read a well-known twitterer’s tips, see “How to tweet like a Pro” http://moz.com/blog/how-to-live-tweet-like-a-pro); for the best ways to make twitter work for your company read the misleadingly named “20 ways to tweet like a Pro” http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/20_ways_to_tweet_like_a_pro_45133.aspx#), and for expert tips on social media follow Sree Sreenavasin as @sree on twitter or visit his webpages http://www.sreetips.com/ and http://sree.net/.]
Since twitter is a fledgling communications tool, taking a forensic look at what happened in a relatively small amount of time on a broadly covered event will give readers a sense of how others use this tool, for what purposes it is used, and the skills needed to use it to effect. A short but weighty statement by the President that was covered widely by the mainstream media and on the twitter-sphere is a perfect choice because it was guaranteed to have the broadest kind of followers tweeting the event (and therefore the best examples of live-tweeting).
Globally, of the hundreds of millions of people watching the President on TV, and the tens of millions that were on Twitter at the time, only about 43 people live-tweeted the President’s statement on Syria (in my circles).
The numbers are small enough to be searched by hand, as opposed to using complicated algorithms. In a not-so-distant future, there will be so many people live-tweeting events that it will be much more difficult to do this kind of artisanal analysis.
The Set-up
The first thing I learned: research your subject before you live-tweet. (After the fact, I found AP had published a copy of the President’s speech at 12:30pm, which I could have used to follow and quote the President more accurately).
It is very hard to take notes or tweet and analyze what is being said at the same time, so the more you know in advance, the better your tweets will be. Gather as much information as possible before you start.
The second thing I learned was that live-tweeting is best done by people that are adept at the short-hand language of tweeter (let’s call it “tweetese” for now, with posts of less than 140 characters, use of the “@” or “at” symbol to message followers and the “#” or “hashtag” symbol to index posts for future search), and are experienced at tweeting while the event is happening.
It is a learned skill to be able to listen, quote the important points, and write in “tweetese” at the same time. It very much feels like a mashup of doing three things at once: transcription (writing what is being said, listening), translation (digesting the information, putting it into tweetese), and micro-blogging (publishing information, typing correctly and quickly).
There is a certain amount of preparation that goes on before the event starts (preparing your followers for the live-tweet event) and much commentary afterward, but tweeting live, while the event is happening, is writing history as you experience it.
Later commentary and analysis will bring color and depth to the discussion, as well as many more perspectives, but it will be spatially dispersed, and the tweets harder to find (although with http://topsy.com, searching twitter will be easier).
Event Watch
I started my “event-watch” at 1:12pm for a scheduled 1:15 presidential statement by looking for TV channels that were covering the statement, as I was going to cover the event from home. CNN was carrying the event, as well as CNBC (who added distractions like cut-aways to infomercials during the half-hour wait – Note: there will always be a lot going on (or nothing going on), and you’ll find a lot of extraneous ‘noise’ when you live-tweet, so concentrate on what you are doing!). Also, make sure you don’t create extraneous ‘noise’ yourself by cutting distractions if you are at home: shutting off your cell phone, walking the dogs beforehand, and giving the children something engrossing to play with - if any of these situations apply to you.
There were more sites on the internet live-streaming the event than broadcasting it on TV. Broadcast media have ceded control of this type of reporting over to social media, the more nimble of the two forms of communication; and TV mostly focuses on analysis after the fact.
This live-streaming is a smart adaptation, because TV is better at planned, longer-form analysis than unscheduled (or off-schedule) events that can be ‘telegraphed’ with short messages (we’ve gone from soundbites to twitterbites).
Live-tweeting opens up opportunities for people to weigh in with their opinions instantly; for experts and specialists in their fields to broaden their reach, their visibility, and their reputation by tweeting live events and attaching their expert opinions as added value and needed perspective; as well as for ‘trolls’ (cyber-bullies), snark-addicts and spin-doctors. 'Lurkers' are those that read everything but don't engage or interact, and make up the majority of followers.
So for a non-violence activist, this Presidential statement was a time to weigh in on alternative options and the costs of war; for a defense contractor, it was a good time to analyze the military situation; for a political scientist, it was a good time to parse out the political and economic fallout of all the choices; and for a journalist, it was a good time to show their writing chops to the world, and link to in-depth articles on the subject.
This was a political event, but the mechanics of tweeting are the same for business conferences and social events.
Please note: being there is better than seeing it second-hand on TV, as some of the tweets made clear (there were anti-war protesters outside the White House chanting, and they were moved away by police before the President started his statement, so they were not heard on TV). But seeing it on TV is better than not tweeting about it at all; just let your audience know where you are when you start.
The President was over 30 minutes late to the podium. I used the wait time to check my twitter feed for comments on the upcoming statement and to retweet posts for later study. Copy-pasting the thread to a Word document helps by archiving the event and creating a list of who else was live-tweeting the event (twitter streams constantly, so threads are lost unless they are copied to a document quickly).
[Note: Every twitter feed is made up of people in your ‘circles’, i.e., people whom you ‘follow’ or who ‘follow’ you. This means my thread is different from anyone else’s thread and my thread will be shaped by the filters of who I ‘follow’.]
If you ever want to create immortal tweets, tie them to a big event, an event that future historians will want to look into (and present followers are interested in), and be sure to include indexing tools (the use of hashtags - # - before a name, {as in #Syria in this case} to make your tweets easily searchable).
Methodology
Since I knew very little about the event I was about to cover, I decided to simply quote the President, as best as I could, as a way of practicing my live-tweeting. About 20 minutes after the end of the speech, I copied my thread to a Word document and started to dissect it. There were 617 posts in total between 1:12pm and 2:20pm (average of 103 tweets every ten minutes). During the actual Presidential Statement (10 minutes, 1:54pm to 2:04pm) there were 157 tweets of which 106 were about the President’s statement. There were 86 people from my circles tweeting at the time, with 43 live-tweeting the President’s statement exclusively.
Here’s the breakdown: Part 1 – Pre-event: 1:12pm to 1:54pm. In total, 253 tweets by 150 twitterers; just discussing the President’s statement on Syria: 78 tweets by 44 twitterers, with 40 twitterers tweeting more than once.
Part 2 – Actual Event: 1:54pm to 2:04pm. In total, 159 tweets by 86 twitterers; just discussing the President’s statement on Syria: 107 tweets by 43 twitterers, with 18 twitterers tweeting more than twice, and two tweeting more than 8 times.
Part 3 – Post-event: 2:04pm to 2:23pm. 156 tweets by 112 twitterers; discussing the President’s statement on Syria: 55 tweets by 41 twitterers. Edited thread for ‘only Syria’ comments here. Content analysis: uses, risks, benefits, best practices, and examples of excellence. For the sake of brevity, I will only analyze the actual live-tweet event (Part 2).
Please note: being there is better than seeing it second-hand
on TV, as some of the tweets made clear (there were anti-war protesters outside
the White House chanting, and they were moved away by police before the
President started his statement, so they were not heard on TV). But seeing it
on TV is better than not tweeting about it at all; just let your audience know
where you are when you start.
The President was over 30 minutes late to the podium. I used
the wait time to check my twitter feed for comments on the upcoming statement
and to retweet posts for later study (you can see an unedited copy of my entire
live-tweet thread here, from 1:12pm to
2:20pm, and a three-part breakdown of the ‘before, during and after’ here, here and here respectively). Copy-pasting the thread to a
Word document helps by archiving the event and creating a list of who else was
live-tweeting the event (twitter streams constantly, so threads are lost unless
they are copied to a document quickly).
[Every twitter feed is made up of people in your ‘circles’, i.e.,
people whom you ‘follow’ or who ‘follow’ you. This means my thread is different
from anyone else’s thread and my thread will be shaped by the filters of who I
‘follow’.]
If you ever want to create immortal tweets, tie them to a
big event, an event that future historians will want to look into (and present
followers are interested in), and be sure to include indexing tools (the use of
hashtags - # - before a name, {as in #Syria in this case} to make your tweets
easily searchable).
Methodology
Since I knew very little about the event I was about to
cover, I decided to simply quote the President, as best as I could, as a way of
practicing my live-tweeting. About 20 minutes after the end of the speech, I
copied my thread to a document, and started
to dissect it. There were 617 posts in total between 1:12pm and 2:20pm (average
of 103 tweets every ten minutes). During the actual Presidential Statement (10
minutes, 1:54pm to 2:04pm) there were 157 tweets of which 106 were about the
President’s statement. There were 86 people
from my circles tweeting at the time, with 43 live-tweeting the President’s
statement exclusively.
Here’s the breakdown:
Part 1 – Pre-event: 1:12pm to 1:54pm. In total, 253 tweets
by 150 twitterers; just discussing the President’s statement on Syria: 78 tweets
by 44 twitterers, with 40 twitterers tweeting more than once. Edited thread for
‘only Syria’ comments here.
Part 2 – Actual Event: 1:54pm to 2:04pm. In total, 159
tweets by 86 twitterers; just discussing the President’s statement on Syria: 107
tweets by 43 twitterers, with 18 twitterers tweeting more than twice, and two
tweeting more than 8 times. Edited thread for ‘only Syria’ comments here.
Part 3 – Post-event: 2:04pm to 2:23pm. 156 tweets by 112
twitterers; discussing the President’s statement on Syria: 55 tweets by 41
twitterers. Edited thread for ‘only Syria’ comments here.
Content analysis: uses,
risks, benefits, best practices, and examples of excellence
For the sake of brevity, I will only analyze the actual
live-tweet event (Part 2).
Text of Obama's statement on Syria as provided by AP via the
White House (with
highlights on important points):
(with
tweets in red, and
highlights in yellow)
[Editorial
license was taken when physically separating the minutes of the speech for this
article so that sentences were kept together even if the minute actually ended in
mid-sentence. The tweets are also in reverse order for easier reading and analysis.]
[1:54pm, minute 37]
Monica Perez Nevarez @guayaba 37m
It's starting
[When the President walked up to the podium, I tweeted this
short message as a starting marker. I should have used a hashtag to index my
tweets.]
WATCH LIVE: Obama remarks on Syria
http://politico.com/live
President Obama:
Minute 1 (minute 37 on timeline)
Good afternoon, everybody. Ten days ago, the world watched
in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria in the worst
chemical weapons attack of the 21st century. Yesterday the United States
presented a powerful case
that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own people.
Our intelligence shows the Assad
regime and its forces preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets in
the highly populated suburbs of Damascus, and acknowledging that a chemical
weapons attack took place. And all of this corroborates what the world can
plainly see - hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the dead.
All told, well over 1,000
people were murdered. Several hundred of them were children - young
girls and boys gassed to death by their own government.
This attack is an assault on human dignity. It also presents a serious
danger to our national security. It risks making a mockery of the global
prohibition on the use of chemical weapons.
Mother Jones @MotherJones
37m
Obama has begun speaking about the
situation Syria. WATCH LIVE: http://1.usa.gov/b2uIyI
pic.twitter.com/rkKUum5U3l
BI: Markets @themoneygame
37m
BREAKING: Obama To Seek
Congressional Authorization For Strike On Syria http://read.bi/197LZnc
LIVE: Obama steps up to podium to
speak on #Syria
http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
GottaLaff @GottaLaff
38m
[notice that I left the minutes timestamp by Twitter as a reference point,
because tweets sometimes show up out of order on your timeline, like this one.
All future out of order timestamps are highlighted.]
PRES OBAMA SPEAKING NOW. LIVE FEED:
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/08/31/live-streaming-video-president-obama-speaks-on-syria-115p-edt/ …
#Syria
Retweeted
by lafloran hussein P,
The New York Times @nytimes
37m
Watch President Obama's statement on
Syria via @nbcnews: http://nyti.ms/19W2tzI
Reuters Live @ReutersLive
37m
Now live: Obama delivers statement
on Syria. Watch here --> http://reut.rs/14jsGrg
Retweeted by Reuters
Top News
[The professional outlets, Mother Jones magazine, Business
Insider Markets magazine, PBS Newshour, the New York Times and Reuters, all
placed their beginning markers with links to live feeds of the event or to
longer articles. Alternative media Political Carnival had its ‘correspondent’
“Gottalaff” do the same. Everyone was driving followers to their coverage. No
one quoted what the President actually said during his exposition.]
Minute 2 (minute 36 on timeline)
It endangers our friends and our
partners along Syria's borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and
Iraq. It could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons, or their
proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm.
In a world with many dangers,
this menace must be confronted.
Now, after careful deliberation,
I have decided that the
United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets.
This would not be an
open-ended intervention. We would not put boots on the ground. Instead, our action
would be designed to be limited in duration and scope. But I'm confident
we can hold the Assad
regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior,
and degrade their capacity to carry it out.
Our military has positioned assets in the region. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs has informed me that we
are prepared to strike whenever we choose. Moreover, the chairman has indicated
to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive; it will be effective tomorrow, or
next week, or one month from now. And I'm prepared to give that order.
Biden is next to him. Looking
somber.
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 36m
President to ask Congress to approve
Syrian strikes
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt
37m
Obama starts out by making case
Kerry made yesterday, arguing in more forceful terms that Syria govt
responsible for massacre.
Retweeted by The
New York Times
Pew Research
Center @pewresearch 36m
Obama now making #Syria statement; See Bruce Stokes analysis: Does public care about
UN blessing over Syria? http://pewrsr.ch/15cuZsT
CaribNews/PuertoRico @caribnews
36m
Obama: "All told well over
1,000 people were murdered…hundreds of them were children." #Syria
Leigh Munsil @leighmunsil
36m
Obama: I have decided that the U.S.
should take military action against Syrian regime targets
[Note: The minutes on my twitter feed are in descending
order, and I am writing this piece chronologically.]
Minute 3 (minute 35 on timeline)
But having made my decision as
commander in chief based on what I am convinced is our national security
interests, I'm also mindful that I'm the president of the world's oldest
constitutional democracy. I've long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but
in our example as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
And that's why I've made a second decision: I will seek authorization for the use of force from the
American people's representatives in Congress.
Over the last several days,
we've heard from members of Congress who want their voices to be heard. I
absolutely agree. So this morning, I spoke with all four congressional leaders,
and they've agreed to
schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress comes back into
session.
BI: Markets @themoneygame
35m
OBAMA: The U.S. 'should' take
military action in Syria http://read.bi/197LZnc
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 35m
President says "children gassed
to death by their own govt" - adds "this menace must be
contained"
Mother Jones @MotherJones
35m
“The United States should take
military action against Syrian regime military targets” -- President Obama
David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt
35m
Obama using conditional voice to
describe attack.
Monica Perez Nevarez @guayaba 35m
Exposition of problem. US should
take military action, no boots on ground, hold Assad accountable. [Mistakes:
No attribution – should have put the word Obama in front, and quotes around
what he said; should also have used a hashtag.]
Huffington
Post @HuffingtonPost 35m
Obama: "I have decided the
United States should take military action against Syrian regime military
targets"
OBAMA: This menace must be
confronted http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
BREAKING: Pres. Obama says he has
decided that the United States should take military action against Syria.
HuffPost Politics @HuffPostPol
36m
Obama: "This attack is an
assault on human dignity"
CaribNews/PuertoRico @caribnews
35m
Obama: "The United States
should take military action"
Obama: The U.S. should take military
action against Syrian regime targets http://politico.com/live
Mother Jones @MotherJones
35m
“We are prepared to strike whenever
we choose” -- President Obama #Syria
OBAMA: I have decided the US should
take military action http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR #Syria
Obama: We are prepared to strike
whenever we choose. This is not time-sensitive. Could be tomorrow, next week or
one month from now
Retweeted by CaribNews/PuertoRico
Independent.ie @Independent_ie
35m
UN rejects Syria pullout to allow
strikes, Obama says will be 'limited' action http://indo.ie/orCTx
Monica Perez
Nevarez @guayaba 35m
We are prepared to strike any time
@POTUS [same mistakes as above]
Minute 4 (minute 34
on timeline)
In the coming days, my administration stands ready
to provide every member with the information they need to understand what
happened in Syria and why it has such profound implications for America's
national security. And all of us should be accountable as we move
forward, and that can only be accomplished with a vote.
I'm confident in the case our
government has made without waiting for U.N. inspectors. I'm comfortable going forward
without the approval of a United Nations Security Council that, so far, has
been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold Assad accountable. As a
consequence, many people have advised against taking this decision to Congress,
and undoubtedly, they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when
the Parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar
goal, even as the prime minister supported taking action.
Pew Research
Center @pewresearch 34m
Obama says he has decided US should
take military action against #Syria, but doesn't say when
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt
35m
Obama: "I have decided that the
United States should take military action against Syrian targets."
Retweeted by The
New York Times
Obama: we should take action, no
need to rush, and Congress should have a say.
PBO: I'm confident we can hold them
acct'able, degrade. We're prepared to strike whenver we choose LIVE FEED:
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/08/31/live-streaming-video-president-obama-speaks-on-syria-115p-edt/ …
#Syria
Retweeted by lafloran hussein P,
Leigh Munsil @leighmunsil
34m
Obama: U.S. prepared to strike
whenever we choose, not time-sensitive. Will seek authorization from Congress
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 34m
"I have concluded that military
action" is necessary, President says - we strike "whenever we
choose" and "I am prepared to give that order"
Jonathan Capehart @CapehartJ
35m
POTUS sounds like he means business.
#awaitingaction
Retweeted by lafloran hussein P,
OBAMA: There will be no boots on the
ground and will be limited in scope http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
#Syria
Monica Perez
Nevarez @guayaba 34m
Seek authorization from Congess
@POTUS [another lesson: correct your
tweets for grammar and spelling before you publish them.]
BREAKING: Obama: U.S. should take
military action against Syria.
Mother
Jones @MotherJones 34m
“I will seek authorization for the
use of force from the American people’s representatives in Congress” --
President Obama #Syria
Peter
Baker @peterbakernyt 34m
Obama: "I will seek
authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives
in congress."
Retweeted by The
New York Times
Huffington
Post @HuffingtonPost 34m
Obama: "I will seek
authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives
in Congress." #Syria
Minute 5 (minute 33 on timeline)
Yet, while I believe I have the
authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional
authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course,
and our actions will be even more effective. We should have this debate, because the issues are too
big for business as usual. And this morning, John Boehner, Harry Reid,
Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell agreed that this is the right thing to do for
our democracy.
A country faces few decisions as
grave as using military force, even when that force is limited. I respect the
views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a
time of war that I was elected in part to end. But if we really do want to turn away from taking
appropriate action in the face of such an unspeakable outrage, then we must
acknowledge the costs of doing nothing.
Here's my question for every
member of Congress and every member of the global community:
Obama says he'll seek authorization
for use of force from Congress http://politico.com/live
There will be a debate and vote when
Congress gets back to town. "All of us should be accountable."
CaribNews/PuertoRico @caribnews 33m
AHORA:
Obama pedira autorización al Congreso para atacar el gobierno en Siria
Pew Research
Center @pewresearch 33m
Obama says he will seek
congressional approval for military action against #Syria
OBAMA: I will seek authorization for
use of force from American people's representatives http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
#Syria
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 33m
POTUS: "I have decided the
United States should take limited military action" against Syria - will
provide Congress w/what it needs
Leigh Munsil @leighmunsil
33m
Predicted a vote on Syria would fail
in House -> RT @repjustinamash:
Thank you, Mr President.
Obama says Congress to debate and
vote once back from session http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
#Syria
6 minutes (minute 32 on timeline)
What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to
death in plain sight and pay no price? What's the purpose of the international
system that we've built if a prohibition on the use of chemical weapons that
has been agreed to by the governments of 98 percent of the world's people and
approved overwhelmingly by the Congress of the United States is not enforced?
Make no mistake - this has
implications beyond chemical warfare. If we won't enforce accountability in the
face of this heinous act, what
does it say about our resolve to stand up to others who flout fundamental
international rules? To governments who would choose to build nuclear arms? To
terrorist who would spread biological weapons? To armies who carry out
genocide?
We cannot raise our children in a world where we will not follow
through on the things we say, the accords we sign, the values that define us.
So just as I will take this case
to Congress, I will also deliver this message to the world.
Independent.ie @Independent_ie
32m
Breaking: Obama says has decided to
seek authorisation for use of force from congress. More to follow on
Independent.ie
POTUS will seek authorization from
Congress. But will NOT call Congress back early. So debate is not for another 9
or 10 days
Retweeted by lafloran hussein P,
The New York Times @nytimes
32m
Breaking News: Obama Will Strike
Syria, But Will Seek Congressional Authorization http://nyti.ms/Zf40cq
Obama: "We should have this
debate."
Huffington
Post @HuffingtonPost 32m
HAPPENING NOW: Obama delivering
statement on #Syria http://huff.to/1dw2LS4
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt
34m
Obama: Talked with four leaders in
Congress and they agreed to schedule debate and vote when Congress comes back
to town.
Retweeted by David Leonhardt
Monica Perez
Nevarez @guayaba 32m
We should have this debate. It is
too important @POTUS [same
mistakes as above, and mis-use of the “@” symbol]
David Rothkopf @djrothkopf
33m
Obama trading paralysis and
impotence of UN for paralysis and impotence of US Congress.
Retweeted by Nicholas Kristof
Pew Research
Center @pewresearch 32m
UN approval before using military
force lacks widespread global agreement http://pewrsr.ch/17nXuaF
Obama will seek congressional
authorization for military strike against Syria | http://ti.me/17mGy2G
OBAMA: We should have this debate
because the issues are too big for business as usual http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
#Syria
Rand Paul, your move.
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 32m
Pres. critical of
"paralyzed" UN, says he'll bypass if needed; says he can carry out
attack on his own - but wants Congressional vote
Eco-Friendly Home @ecofhp
32m
#Congress
is so strange. A man gets up to speak & says
nothing. Nobody listens, then everybody disagrees.- Boris Marshalov #quotes
Minute 7 (minute 31 on timeline)
While the U.N. investigation has
some time to report on its findings, we will insist that an atrocity committed with
chemical weapons is not simply investigated, it must be confronted.
I don't expect every nation to
agree with the decision we have made. Privately we've heard many expressions of
support from our friends. But I will ask those who care about the writ of the international community
to stand publicly behind our action.
And finally, let me say this to
the American people: I
know well that we are weary of war. We've ended one war in Iraq. We're
ending another in Afghanistan. And the American people have the good sense to know we cannot resolve the
underlying conflict in Syria with our military. In that part of the
world, there are ancient
sectarian differences, and the hopes of the Arab Spring have unleashed forces
of change that are going to take many years to resolve. And that's why we're
not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else's war.
Pew Research
Center @pewresearch 31m
Even before chemical weapons furor,
Assad had little support among publics in the region http://pewrsr.ch/146rcwS
Monica Perez
Nevarez @guayaba 31m
Question what message we send if
dictator gases people and there is no reaction?
Breaking: Obama will seek
congressional approval before any military strikes against #Syria. Congress not in
session until Sept. 9th.
Mother Jones @MotherJones
31m
“What message will we send if a dictator
can gas hundreds of kids to death in plain sight and pay no price?” --
President Obama #Syria
BREAKING: Obama will seek
authorization from Congress for taking military action against Syria
Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy
31m
OBAMA: "Make no mistake, this
has implications beyond chemical warfare."
Retweeted by Leigh Munsil
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 31m
President not indicating he'll call
Congress back early; it returns on Sept. 9; any hostilities against Syria
appear weeks away - if any
david m aka
sixoone @sixoone_31m
'No attack on Syria' anti-war rally
in central London. @Demotix News http://www.demotix.com/news/2542107/no-attack-syria-demonstration-central-london …
@CNDuk #HandsOffSyria
@TheGreenParty
Retweeted by The Green Party
Monica Perez
Nevarez @guayaba 31m
This has implications beyond WMD...
To genocide, bullying, ...
Reuters Top News @Reuters
31m
Obama to seek U.S. congressional
debate and vote to consider approving limited military action against Syria
gov't http://reut.rs/14jsGrg
Minute 8 (minute 30 on timeline)
Instead, we'll continue to support the Syrian people
through our pressure on the Assad regime, our commitment to the opposition, our
care for the displaced, and our pursuit of a political resolution that achieves
a government that respects the dignity of its people.
But we are the United States of
America, and we cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in
Damascus. Out of the ashes
of world war, we built an international order and enforced the rules that gave
it meaning. And we did so because we believe that the right of individuals to
live in peace and dignity depends on the responsibilities of nations. We
aren't perfect, but this nation more than any other has been willing to meet
those responsibilities.
So to all members of Congress of both parties, I ask you to take this
vote for our national security. I am looking forward to the debate. And in doing so, I ask you, members of Congress, to
consider that some things
are more important than partisan differences or the politics of the moment.
Caroline
Ghosn @carolineghosn 30m
Listening to President Obama on the
radio
Mother Jones @MotherJones
30m
“We cannot raise our children in a
world where we do not follow through on the things we say” -- President Obama
#Syria
HuffPost
Politics @HuffPostPol 33m
Obama: "While I believe I have
the authority…I know the country will be stronger if we take this course…we
should have this debate."
Retweeted by Huffington Post
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt
31m
Obama: "What message will we
send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay
no price?"
Retweeted by The
New York Times
OBAMA: This has implications beyond
chemical warfare http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR #Syria
Obama says no troops will be sent
into Syria. Willing to go in without UN security council which he called
"paralyzed"
Retweeted by POLITICO
Christiane
Amanpour @camanpour 30m
Pres says he's made decision to
strike soon, next week or next month, like UK he'll seek congressional approval
....rolling the dice? ...
Leigh Munsil @leighmunsil
30m
Makes U.S. look like aggressor? RT
@EasonJordan: Surprising that Syrian state TV would televise Obama's
remarks live. pic.twitter.com/VQcSCSRKaF
Obama: this is not lonely-at-the-top
time; it's time for people's reps to make a hard decision.
Christiane
Amanpour @camanpour 30m
.... US credibility and our right
NOT to be attacked by WMD on the line.
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 30m
"An atrocity committed with
chemical weapons...must be confronted," president says of #syria
US Reality
Check @USRealityCheck 30m
The President Will Explain What's
Next for Syria: The President announced a surprise press conference ... http://bit.ly/12XXOLI
taw #US
Monica Perez
Nevarez @guayaba 30m
While UN investigation goes ahead,
genocide must be confronted. Asking leaders to stand behind this action @POTUS
Minute 9 (minute 29 on timeline)
Ultimately, this is not about who occupies this office at any given
time; it's about who we are as a country. I
believe that the people's representatives must be invested in what America does
abroad, and now is the
time to show the world that America keeps our commitments. We do what we
say. And we lead with the
belief that right makes might - not the other way around.
We all know there are no easy options.
But I wasn't elected to avoid hard decisions. And neither were the members of
the House and the Senate. I've told you what I believe, that our security and our values
demand that we cannot turn away from the massacre of countless civilians with
chemical weapons. And our democracy is stronger when the President and the people's
representatives stand together.
I'm ready to act in the face of this outrage.
OBAMA: We cannot raise our children
in a world where we do not follow through on the things that we say http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
#Syria
Huffington
Post @HuffingtonPost 29m
Obama: "We cannot raise our
children in a world where we do not follow through on things we say" #Syria
Jay Newton-Small @JNSmall
31m
Wow. Congressional approval is going
to be a nightmare to get thru the House. Anyone remember the House's disastrous
failed votes on Libya?
Retweeted by TIME.com
Monica Perez Nevarez @guayaba
29m
Looking
for a political solution, while supporting the Syrian people @POTUS
Have we
just witnessed the high point of executive power in the U.S.?
Retweeted by Ben Smith
Steve Brusk @stevebruskCNN
29m
Our International Desk says Syrian
State TV is carrying President Obama's address live
Retweeted by Ben Smith
CNN Breaking News @cnnbrk
28m
President Obama: US "should
take military action against Syrian targets" but he'll seek Congressional
approval. http://on.cnn.com/179eqgU
Stuart Millar @stuartmillar159
34m
Obama: "I am prepared to give
that order. But...I will seek authorisation for the use of force for the
American people's reps in Congress"
Retweeted by GuardianUS
Vijay Prashad @vijayprashad
28m
Obama puts it in the laps of the US
Congress. Good move. Lights are back on in Beirut.
Stuart
Millar @stuartmillar159 32m
Obama makes clear he believes he has
the authority to launch strikes without authorisation. But says country and
decision stronger with it
Retweeted by GuardianUS
Obama: We cannot and must not turn a
blind eye on what happened in Damascus. #Syria
Retweeted by Nicholas Kristof
Emile
Hokayem @emile_hokayem 29m
So the most limited strike ever will
take the longest process ever to happen.
Retweeted by Nicholas Kristof
Ewen
MacAskill @ewenmacaskill 29m
Obama in White House statement
delays attack on Syria to give members of Congress a chance to debate.
Retweeted by GuardianUS
Minute 10 (minute 28 on timeline)
Today I'm asking Congress to
send a message to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one
nation.
Thanks very much.
West Wing
Reports @WestWingReport 28m
President tacitly acknowledging lack
of political capital to proceed unilaterally; wants/needs Congressional buy in
on #Syria
Monica Perez Nevarez @guayaba 28m
.@POTUS looking
forward to debate. We must assure the world that that we keep our commitments.
Right makes might, not the other way around
Marnie Glickman @marniemix
27m
Obama will seek authorization from
Congress for force through Congress. Will peace prevail? Will we stand up for
non-violence? #syria
HuffPost
Politics @HuffPostPol 29m
Obama: "We cannot and must not
turn a blind eye on what happened in Damascus"
Retweeted by Huffington Post
"Your fatwa does not apply
here": Muslim artists battle fundamentalism http://slnm.us/lLHVh7d
OBAMA: Our country is stronger when
the president and the people's representatives stand together http://to.pbs.org/15oCanR
#Syria
See the full transcript here.
